DH 25 April 2009

SURVIVAL
TE QU
CH ES
NI

‘Wait-and-watch’ becomes panic

Private bankers are not going away
MENA countries better off
 Vol. VI. No. 41 April 2009

Editor
Editor’s note
K Raveendran ravi@sterlingp.ae

consulting Editor
Matein Khalid matein@sterlingp.ae Never a straight line
W
Publisher & Managing Director ith the aftershocks of the global financial
Sankaranarayanan sankar@sterlingp.ae tsunami beginning to be felt one after the
other, survival techniques would soon be
Director Finance in full play. Every business, every institution and every
Anandi Ramachandran anandi@sterlingp.ae individual needs to ready a plan so as to be able to come
out of trouble as best as one can. The crisis is a fact of
Editorial life, from which there is no easy escape for any one.
Staff Writer As far as Dubai goes, concerns of a deeper impact
Ambily Vijaykumar ambily@sterlingp.ae
on various segments of its economy are becoming
Contributing Editors more pronounced with each passing day. Some efforts
Anand Vardhan of inducing a stimulus have already been made, but any
Linda Benbow linda@sterlingp.ae tangible effects of these moves are yet to be registered.
Vanit Sethi vanit@sterlingp.ae On the contrary, businesses are bracing up for a more
Manju Ramanan manju@sterlingp.ae
extended period of instability. That’s why survival
DESIGN
techniques are so very important.
Creative Director So, the short term scenarios are indeed going
Harikumar PB harikumarpb@gmail.com to be painful. The latest assessment is that Dubai’s
Designer population itself will shrink by over 15 per cent in
Ujwala Ranade ujwalaranade2007@gmail.com the course of a year, which cannot but have a bearing
on the overall growth prospects. One of the biggest
Sales and Marketing strengths of Dubai, no doubt, has been its high-profile
General Manager (Sales & Marketing) market, which means the effect of a contraction in size
Radhika Natu radhika@sterlingp.ae will be quite real.
Product Manager But the positive side of the story is that one short
Vijayn G vijay@sterlingp.ae term or a couple of seasons do not make up the life of
Senior Advertisement Executive a place. Life does not move in a straight line; it has to
Sanjana Antony sanjana@sterlingp.ae have its ups and downs if it has to sound true. It is a law
of nature that those who enjoy the boom ride must also
ACCOUNTS
Biju varghese biju@sterlingp.ae
be prepared to face the other side of the curve. So, there
is nothing ‘out of the world’ in the current situation.
Office Co-ordinator
Daisy Orfrecio daisy@sterlingp.ae
Circulation Supervisors Ibrahim A. Hameed
Saleem K U
Printing
Asiatic Printing Press L.L.C., PB 3522, Ajman, UAE. Tel. 06 743 4221,
Fax: 06 743 4223www.asiaticpress.com, email: asiatic@eim.ae K Raveendran
Distribution
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 CONTENTS

10 COVER STORIES 14

Where is all Survival

the money? techniques
Liquidity gap of Dh110 billion continues Job market players adopt measures
to keep funding out of reach to stay in contention

24 REAL ESTATE 34 RISK MANAGEMENT

‘Wait-and-watch’
becomes panic
Dubai property market outlook continues to be
bleak as funding options evaporate
Banks must do better
Financial crisis has revealed the vulnerability of
banks to severe market shocks

28 Dubai population seen

falling 17 per cent

30 PRIVATE BANKS
Private bankers are
not going away
‘Strategies of groups like Lombard Odier more
relevant today’

2 April 2009
36 MARKETS
Concerns at banks’ asset quality
From a popular growth theme, Gulf markets turn to
illiquid trade in a matter of weeks

37 ECONOMY
MENA countries better off
World Bank update forecasts rapid deterioration in
financial and economic conditions

41 INTERNATIONAL
The $2.5 trillion repair job
Geithner’s plan to fix the financial system is good; now
he needs to execute

44 TECHNOLOGY
Cyber criminals getting
more innovative
TrendMicro report says underground
economy flourishing in financial meltdown

April 2009 3

Record $6.4 billion raised by PE managers in 2008
M
iddle East private equity
fund managers raised
a record $6.4 billion in
2008, up more than 10
per cent over 2007 and more than dou-
ble the amount raised in 2005, accord-
ing to Gulf Venture Capital Associa-
tion’s (GVCA) 2008 report on Private
Equity & Venture Capital in the Middle
East.
Large size funds are primarily re-
sponsible for this growth, with the
average fund size in 2008 being $258
million, compared with $213 million in
2007 and just $177 million in 2006. This
trend is driven by the need for more
flexibility in structuring deals and the
past success of large buyout transac-
tions, according to the 2008 GVCA
report, developed in cooperation with
KPMG, and Zawya, and supported by
Hawkamah.
Three regional funds have crossed
the $1 billion mark, and as the report
notes, the current economic downturn
may make it more difficult for all but
the most established fund managers to
secure the successful closure of these
larger funds.
Yet, there is also tremendous liquid-
ity among regional funds, which are
cash rich with $11 billion in capital un-
der management yet to be deployed. The
report notes that this ‘dry powder’, as it
is called, gives private equity a strategic
opportunity vis-à-vis target companies,
given the limited scope of other fund-
ing sources available in the current en-
vironment. This liquidity results from
both an increase in fundraising and a
decrease in deals, with the number of
private equity investments dropping by
22 per cent between 2007 and 2008, as
4 APRIL 2009
UNDUP...ROUN
O
R
...
well as the total investment size, which
fell by 31 per cent.
The report found that over the past
four years, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates were the largest
recipients of private equity funds, at 33
per cent, 15 per cent and 14 per cent
respectively. The majority of funds are
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
focused, with Turkey sometimes in-
cluded as part of the region. Regional
players are experiencing an increasing
request for funds with a mandate that
includes MENA, to expand and include
South Asia, Southeast Asia and/or Af-
rica.
The sectors of focus for portfolio
acquisitions during 2008 were health-
care, transport, power & utilities and
construction. Healthcare likely would
remain a top recipient of private equity
funds in the next few years.
In terms of fund strategies, more
and more funds are seeking controlling
stakes. While in 2005, only 3 per cent of
transactions were control buyouts, by
2008, some 26 per cent of transactions
volume and half of transactions values
were control buyouts.
The report is optimistic about the
future of private equity in the region,
noting that as an asset class, it does not
have a short-term investment horizon
and so is well placed to weather the cur-
rent crisis.
According to Imad Ghandour,
Chairman of the GVCA Information
& Statistics committee, the economic
fundamentals of the region remain
strong and are supported by aggressive
fiscal policies. Governments’ reserves
will continue to trickle down to the rest
of the economy – sustaining corporate
OUNDUP...ROU
.P ..R N
U
DU
D
P...
ROUND
U
P..
.RO
UND DUP
UP...ROUN
profits and public investments, he said.
“A sober market will offer better
valuations, and hence better returns for
private equity. Although the increased
attention from international players
that the region witnessed in 2007 may
be disrupted, we expect the disruption
to be temporary. As a matter of fact, we
expect the robust economic perform-
ance of the region to attract additional
allocation from international institu-
tional investors over the medium term,”
he said.
Although fundraising in the region
has been strong, when compared with
the total value of announced fund siz-
es, it is clear there have been delays in
reaching target sizes. In fact, after ex-
cluding one major fundraising, only 16
per cent of the total amount announced
in 2008 was actually raised in the same
year, compared with 65 per cent in 2005.
Roughly half of the funds announced
in 2006 have so far been raised, and ap-
proximately $11.7 billion of announced
funds in 2006-8 have yet to make a
close. The report suggests that this is be-
cause fund sizes are much larger, as well
as recent constraints on liquidity.
While 2008 saw an increase in the to-
tal value of sale activity, which reached
$3 billion, most of this was due to one
major exit of $2.5 billion; excluding this
one-off transaction, sale activity de-
creased by approximately 60 per cent, as
did the number of exits, which dropped
from 17 in 2007 to 11 in 2008. The report
suggests that there will be fewer exits in
the current economic climate, as funds
won’t be able to achieve the returns
traditionally targeted and exit options
shrink, particularly with the sharp de-
cline in regional IPOs. Trade sales were
temp 1 3/12/09 11:19:20‭ ‬AM
named as the most likely exit over the
next couple years.
According to Ihsan Jawad, CEO of
Zawya and board member of GVCA,
private equity in the region is develop-
ing in many ways that are unique in
comparison to the developed world.  order to add the maximum value.
Transparency remains a major barrier
that hinders this mode of investment
from becoming a strong component
in the GCC financial system. More
research efforts and collaboration is
needed by all practitioners to elevate
the current opacity of the private equity
market, he said.
Of the 18 private equity fund man-
agers interviewed for the report, most
said they were established in the last
five years. They expressed an expecta-
Corporate alliances becoming popular
G
lobalization and techno-
logical advances have made
strategic alliances benefi-
cial to companies looking
to work together. Recent international
AT Kearney research has found that in-
dustries which commonly use alliances
as a means of collaboration for the good
of all parties are: pharmaceuticals (18
per cent), high-tech (16 per cent) and
energy (11 per cent). Other sectors with
significant alliance activity include au-
tomotive (seven percent), banking (six
percent) and transportation and travel
(six per cent).
An alliance can take several forms
from a contractual agreement to col-
laborate in any part of the value chain,
to the shared ownership of a joint ven-
ture with a specific purpose/mission.
Regardless of the type of alliance it of-
fers companies a way of reaping some
of the potential benefits often sought
in mergers. The decision of whether to
work in a strategic alliance or a merger
is based on careful analysis of the bene-
fits and level of control sought through
collaboration.
“Alliances, which are low-risk and
6 APRIL 2009
tion of consolidation in the industry,
a decrease in investment, and lower
portfolio company growth. This means
portfolio companies will be held longer
and fund managers will be increasingly
active in managing their companies in
Elaborating on the role of fund
managers toward their portfolio com-
panies given the current environment,
Vikas Papriwal, Partner in KPMG’s
Private Equity and Sovereign Wealth
Funds practice, said, “With attractive
exit options scarce at present, the focus
for many private equity firms is now
the workout of their existing portfo-
lio – with operational improvements,
debt restructuring and working capital
management at the core. Discretionary
low-control, are just one option com-
panies should consider. They are re-
versible by their very nature and can
take many different forms and serve a
variety of purposes,” Dr Dirk Buchta,
partner and managing director, A.T.
Kearney, Middle East, said.
So far this region has already wit-
nessed the first mergers in the real es-
tate and banking sector. “We expect to
see more strategic alliances, mergers
and acquisitions to occur in the Mid-
dle East both within banking and other
industries. The energy sector is one of
the regional industries where we expect
to see more alliances occurring either
as a result of utilities companies aiming
to achieve economies of scale, focusing
on core business and outsourcing other
areas into, for example joint ventures,
or as an enabler to build up capabilities
and knowhow,” said Dr Buchta.
The report from AT Kearney shows
that alliances are very popular among
companies in the same industry (60
per cent), with only 30 per cent of the
surveyed alliances being between buy-
ers and seller and even less so between
players in non-related industries at just
spending is being restricted, including
expansionary capital expenditures, and
business plan timelines are being reas-
sessed, as entities look to weather the
storm. However, no one doubts that op-
portunities will exist once we are over
the worst.”
The GVCA report compiles com-
prehensive information and statistics
about private equity funds and invest-
ments across the Middle East, and con-
tains nine articles on current topics in
the industry. The 125-page report also
provides a detailed survey of 18 private
equity fund managers regarding their
views looking back at 2008 and ahead
to 2009. There also is a special section
dedicated to sovereign wealth fund
strategies and investments.
10 per cent.
“The reason for this is likely that
the value proposition is more straight-
forward to all parties when in the same
industry, such as co-development of a
new drug component,” Dr Buchta said.
“Whether it is a merger or a strategic al-
liance the success will be determined by
the quality of the preparation as well as
execution.”
A good starting point for any stra-
tegic alliance, merger or acquisition is
to consider the benefits sought and then
apply a unique set of criteria to evalu-
ate the benefits from any close collabo-
ration with another company, such as
geographic footprint, access to skills
and expertise, access to customers,
economies of scale or scope as well as
optimizing the risk portfolio.
“What distinguishes the winners
from the losers of the current crisis
will be the ability of companies to align
their strategies to the new reality. This
will, for any company, include consid-
erations of how best to reap benefits
from collaboration with other players,
as well as the skills and capabilities to
implement change,” Dr Buchta added.

New blending facility adds
to Dubai’s tea assets
T
he Dubai Tea Trading Centre (DTTC), a division of the Dubai
Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), unveiled its new centralised
tea storage, blending and value addition services as part of its ex-
pansion plans to accommodate the growing activities of the centre.
The 23,731sqm facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone also includes office space
for regional and international tea companies.
DTTC’s new facility offers services across the entire value chain of
the tea industry ranging from storage, tea tasting, blending, packaging
as well as networking opportunities leading to increased trade. The new
facility also provides dedicated individual storage space, free storage for
a limited period of time, and temperature-controlled blending and pack-
ing facilities for a wide range of teas under one roof.
“Tea is a truly global commodity – consumed among a wide array of
peoples and cultures. It is fitting that Dubai, with its geographic advantage
and world-class infrastructure, is perfectly placed to become an impor-
tant hub for international tea trade,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive
Chairman, DMCC. “DTTC has already made significant contribution to
growing the tea trade. This new facility – a one-stop solution for the tea
industry - will further boost tea traded through the emirate, contributing
to the ongoing diversification of the emirate’s dynamic economy.”
DTTC’s success is demonstrated by Dubai’s encouraging tea growth,
which is evident from the growing tea trade. In 2008, Dubai’s total tea
trade reached 148.6 million kilos, compared to 144.6 million kilos in
2007. In the same period, 5.92 million kilos of multi-origin teas were
transacted through the DTTC, representing an annual growth of 15 per
cent.
Sanjay Sethi, Head of the DTTC, said the new facility is a milestone for
the Centre as well as the global tea trade. As Dubai is neither a producer
nor a significant consumer of tea, it is well positioned to offer integrated
services across the tea industry. “We have already seen immense interest
from international tea traders to avail these new facilities. We are con-
fident that the new Centre will attract more tea traders and boost the
volumes of tea traded through Dubai,” he added.
The new Centre has the capacity to store up to 5000 metric tonnes of
bulk teas at any given time. In addition, up to 2400 metric tonnes of CTC
teas and leaf teas can be blended per month. DTTC’s new facility also has
the capacity to pack up to 250 metric tones of tea in tea bags every month
and up to 900 metric tones of loose tea in retail format per month. These
comprehensive services are expected to further help boost the volume of
tea traded through Dubai.
In addition to providing market infrastructure, DTTC also enables
tea traders to access finance through the services of the Global Multi
Commodity Receipt (GMR).
The DTTC presently stocks teas from 13 producing countries, in-
cluding Kenya, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania,
Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Nepal, China and Iran. In keeping with
its mandate to further increase the tea trade in and through Dubai, the
DTTC also facilitates sales with buyers in the GCC countries, Iran, Iraq,
Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the CIS countries and has
plans to expand its services to other Middle East and European markets.
Crisis helps bring more
regulatory coordination
T
he global financial crisis has triggered a
deeper and more comprehensive scrutiny
of banks by regulators working hard to
maintain the stability of their financial systems,
according to Gulf Finance House (GFH).
Even in jurisdictions such as Bahrain, which
have shown considerable resilience in the face of
the current turmoil, financial institutions and the
Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) are working much
more closely to monitor the effects of the crisis,
which continues to unfold and evolve, said Dr
Ala’a Al-Yousuf, Chief Economist at GFH.
“The Islamic finance industry, of which GFH
is a prominent player, avoided the mess of the
subprime crisis, thanks to its strong, asset-backed
business models, which are rooted in Islamic
principles,” said Dr Al-Yousuf during a session on
‘The supervision of Islamic banking and the role
of the CBB’.
The ban on interest, speculation, trading debt
and complex structured products prevented Islamic
financial institutions (IFIs) from investing in the
assets that turned toxic for conventional banks.
The concept of sharing of risks and profits has also
meant that IFIs were inherently more conservative
than their conventional counterparts.
“What the current crisis has done is to test the
Islamic financial system and reveal its strengths,
which are inherent, as well as its vulnerabilities,
which stem from its linkages with the global
economy and conventional financial system,” said
Dr Al-Yousuf.
However, banks based in Bahrain, including the
GFH, have so far shown considerable resilience, he
noted.
While regulators around the world have
been injecting huge amounts of money to bail
out some of the world’s largest banks, the CBB
has not deemed it necessary to make a similar
intervention, despite months of turmoil in the
international financial markets.
“This speaks well of the fundamental strength
of the banking system in Bahrain, for which
some of the credit must go to the regulator for its
effective oversight and supervision of its licensees
as well as to the banks for implementing effective
risk management practices,” said Dr Al-Yousuf.
While the ongoing financial crisis has
shattered the light-touch regulation model,
regulators around the world now need to develop
a formula which strikes the right balance between
regulatory oversight and corporate freedom, said
Dr Al-Yousuf.
APRIL 2009 7
 Changing market dynamics in Dubai real estate

C
hanging market dynamics in mark Advisory, the research and anal- on the Landmark Advisory website,
the UAE’s real estate sector ysis division of Landmark Properties, www.landmark-advisory.com, as
enabling Dubai’s residential forecasts for leasing rates are expected well as Landmark Properties website,
renters to upgrade their accommoda- to fall 25 per cent on average for both www.landmark-dubai.com.
tion or find larger homes at more at- villas and apartments from a peak in A studio in JLT that was going
tractive price points, according to 2008. for Dh90,000 in the market last year,
Landmark Properties. Landmark Advisory published is now approximately Dh50-55,000
“What we are seeing now in Dubai leasing price maps in March to guide in today’s market. Looking at a
is a shift benefitting and protecting the tenants on approximately what they Grade A one-bedroom apartment
in Dubai Marina last year was about
Dh150, 000, while today the same
Leasing Rates, March 2009 unit is going for around Dh100, 000.
APARTMENTS
“We urge our clients to reference
Project Studio 1 Bed 2 Bed 3 Bed 4 Bed these maps as we have rates for both
apartments and villas on our site,”
Palm 100- 50 140- 60 185- 50 300-380 185-350 300-380 says Neil. “Tenants have greater free-
Jumeirah dom of choice and negotiating power
than previously experienced in this
Dubai 52 - 90 75- 00 85 - 150 140- 50 190- 50 140-250 190-250 market over the last 3-4 years. There
Marina are clear money-saving opportunities
in the market and clients should lev-
The Greens 55 - 75 80 - 90 120 -140 170 -190 200 - 230 170-190 200-230 erage this chance to take advantage of
the time.”
The Views 70 - 85 80 - 125 150 -160 175 - 210 175-210 Building owners can also ben-
efit from this rental flexibility, says
JLT 50 - 75 65 - 120 80 - 150 130 -200 130-200 Landmark Properties. Landlords can
secure long-term rentals with guar-
JBR 75 - 90 100 - 20 130 - 60 170-200 210 - 280 170-200 210-280 anteed income if both parties are mu-
tually satisfied. Landmark Properties
Source: Landmark Advisory
also recently announced their Prop-
erty Management division, offering
rights of the tenant community. Ten- should be paying for rent in certain landlords direct services to maximise
ants are having an easier time find- areas. These maps are accessible both freehold returns.
ing larger units for the same rate they
currently pay, or choosing to move to
more affluent areas. We’re also see-
ing many pay the same rent, but with
an increased number of cheques,” ex-
plained Charles Neil, CEO, Landmark
Advisory.
“Landmark Properties Consultants
are now advising tenants on how to
maximise their rental budgets through
a variety of ways –from advising on ar-
eas where rent is softening to helping
reduce tenants commutes by finding
properties closer to work. The Con-
sultants are suggesting many ways to
get more value for their clients’ given
budget,” he added.
Rental property continues to come
down in price, as landlords look to find
stable, securely-employed tenants for
their properties. According to Land-

8 APRIL 2009
Secure salaries, easy payroll
Smart Pay, the industry-leading electronic
wage payment solution from UAE Exchange
“Smart Pay is a niche product, which successfully
addresses a critical area in the labour-oriented
market of UAE. The product infuses greater
reliability to payroll management, and has been a
major success in UAE with many major companies
forming part of our clientele. As yet another
innovative product from UAE Exchange, Smart
Pay has established itself as the leading payroll
solution in the market.” Y. Sudhir Kumar Shetty, COO - Global
Operations of UAE Exchange

U
AE Exchange’s Smart Pay,
an industry-leading elec-
tronic wage payment solu-
tion seeking to improve the
salary disbursal system of companies in
UAE, and complying with the directive
of the UAE Ministry of Labour, is stead-
ily gaining popularity.
Smart Pay is the first exchange house
payroll solution product in the UAE mar-
ket, which aims to empower the average
salary earner through organized salary
payments, bringing benefits of consist-
ent, timely, secure, and convenient sal-
ary pickup through the wide-networked
branches of UAE Exchange.
Smart Pay attributes its increasing
popularity to its inbuilt features, which
benefit both the employer and the em-
ployee, especially in the construction
industry, where the workers are flung
widely across the construction sites and
labour camps, making the logistics man-
agement difficult for the employer, and
accessibility of payment centres difficult
for the worker.
Smart Pay is a unique offering from
UAE Exchange, the leading global remit-
tance brand based in UAE with nearly
three decades of outstanding growth
indices. UAE Exchange has operations
spreading across five continents with a
network of over 410 direct offices span-
ning from N. America to the Pacific.
It provides a wide range of products
and services, positively influencing
the lives of people through reliable and
comprehensive remittance solutions.
UAE Exchange has more than 6,000 per-
sonnel deployed across the globe con-
sisting of nearly 40 nationalities. It has
a strong network in UAE with over 75
branches.
“Smart Pay is a niche product, which
successfully addresses a critical area
in the labour-oriented market of UAE.
The product infuses greater reliability
to payroll management, and has been a
major success in UAE with many major
companies forming part of our clientele.
As yet another innovative product from
UAE Exchange, Smart Pay has estab-
lished itself as the leading payroll solu-
tion in the market,” says Y. Sudhir Ku-
mar Shetty, COO - Global Operations of
UAE Exchange.
Company sources said the employer
saves on man-hours, the huge paperwork
involved in the monthly salary disbursal,
and logistics management by transfer-
ring the onus to UAE Exchange which,
by virtue of its network and technol-
ogy strength, handles the volume effec-
tively. Hi-tech in-house systems ensure
prompt and accurate delivery. Specially
trained multinational staff for disbur-
sal of salaries at the wide-networked
UAE Exchange branches and various
camp sites ensure the convenience of the
employees, they pointed out. Smart Pay
benefits hundreds of thousands of work-
ers and companies in UAE.
Smart Pay caters to the payroll manage-
ment need of more than 1,000 corporates
in the UAE market today, and disburses
over 150,000 salaries every month across
the country. Company sources indicated
that the product plans to establish itself
in other labour-oriented markets as well,
based on the local market environment,
and promises to transform into one of the
frontrunners in the product portfolio of
UAE Exchange. Further, Smart Pay Card,
and cash dispensing machines are to be
launched soon, which would elevate the
product to a new level of convenience,
they disclosed.

APRIL 2009 9
COVER STORY
PROPERTY

WHERE
IS ALL
THE
MONEY?
Liquidity gap of Dh110 billion continues to keep funding out of reach

10 APRIL 2009
By K Raveendran
T
he announcement about the
UAE central bank subscrib-
ing to $10 billion of the $20
billion Dubai bond sale plan
did create euphoria in the market, but
as weeks pass without any qualitative
change happening in the liquidity situ-
ation, that excitement is surely waning.
The probability of bank loans being
sanctioned, whether for personal pur-
poses or for business needs, continues
to be low as banks and financial institu-
tions refuse to budge from their posi-
tion that any new loan request turned
down means another possible reason
for discomfort avoided. Some of the
Abu Dhabi banks, armed with fresh
funding from the government, are seen
to be more active with their loan offers,
but most Dubai banks continue to be
overcautious. The steeply hiked sal-
ary levels required for qualifying for
a loan have not been relaxed, and the
new stringent criteria has played large
segments of the population outside the
banks’ loan business.
ADCB is leading the charge in this
respect and is aggressively pursuing its
loan business in Dubai, while the other
Abu Dhabi banks are said to be concen-
trating on employees of oil companies
and other established businesses, which
are relatively less exposed to the troubles
brought by the financial meltdown. But
no one is daring to touch the problem
areas of real estate and financial sectors
and the related services sectors.
Card marketing companies with
multiple bank clients have undergone
major downsizing as most Dubai banks
have simply pulled out from the new is-
suance market and restricted the opera-
tions to the bare minimum. Small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) continue to
suffer as most banks shun any exposure
to them in this troubled times. Small
businesses are among the worst affected
as the credit crunch impairs their opera-
tions badly. “SMEs are getting squeezed
from both sides,” acknowledges Marios
Maratheftis, Regional Head of Research,
Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan
Some of the Abu
Dhabi banks, armed
with fresh funding
from the government,
are seen to be getting
more active with their
loan offers, but most
Dubai banks continue
to be overcautious
of Standard Chartered Bank.
Bankers are unanimous in their view
that the liquidity with their banks needs
a sea of improvement. The Central Bank
Governor has himself gone on record
that there is a shortfall of about Dh110
billion in the required liquidity level in
the UAE market. Loans with the banks
currently exceed deposits by Dh110 bil-
lion and this gap needs to be bridged,
Sultan Nasser Al Suwaidi told reporters
at a GCC banking conference in Bah-
rain. According to central bank rules,
banks are supposed to hold at least 100
per cent of their outstanding loans as
deposits and their current lendings ex-
ceed deposits by up to 13 per cent.
Although Suweidi indicated that
an economic stimulus plan was on the
drawing board, he did not disclose
the details. “The current situation re-
quires a stimulus plan for banks and
the economy in view of this ‘gap’ which
could be bridged in collaboration with
the Ministry of Finance,” the governor
was reported as saying. But he disclosed
that the government has not decided on
buying up bank portfolios, although
there will be “some arrangement” to
help lenders.
“Buying up bank portfolios is still for
the government to decide” not the cen-
tral bank, he said. “There is not only one
solution for the whole thing, it’s not only
cash injection that you need to do, so
you need to do maybe multiple things,
like they did in the United States, in the
UK,” he said.
Although it has been weeks since Du-
bai announced the $10 billion subscrip-
tion by the central bank, there has no
further word on how this money is to be
deployed. Nasser Bin Hassan al-Shaikh,
Director General of the Department of
Finance, who announced the central
bank subscription, has only indicated
that no decision has yet been taken on
which companies were to be assisted
with funding from the plan.
“There has been no disclosure or
official mention of the specific compa-
nies that will benefit from this funding.
Such information will be made available
once the funding structure has been ap-
proved by the Department of Finance,”
said a statement from the department.
‘‘The bond programme subscribed by
the UAE Central Bank is targeted at
supporting all affiliated entities, wheth-
er fully or partially owned or affiliated
in any capacity with the government
of Dubai during this period of unprec-
edented challenges to the global econo-
my,’’ the statement added.
Market observers had suggested that
the effectiveness of the $10 billion infu-
sion would depend on how the money is
deployed. Morgan Stanley, for instance,
estimated that if the bond issue receipts
were placed with the local banks, the gap
APRIL 2009 11
‘2010 would be the recovery year’
Shayne
Nelson
“W
e believe that 2010
would be recovery year
for the UAE, GCC,
Asia and Africa, although it would
take much longer for the UK, US and
Eurozone to recover from the current
global meltdown,” Standard Chartered
officials told a media roundtable.
“It’s a global crisis, but it is not a
crisis that has originated in Asia, Af-
rica or the Middle East. Structurally,
economy here is much stronger than
most economies,” said Shayne Nel-
son, Regional Chief Executive Officer,
Middle East & North Africa, Standard
Chartered Bank.
He said that the crisis in the Dubai
real estate market could not be com-
pared to the property market crash of
Singapore, which took almost a decade
to recover. The Dubai situation has
aspects that are strong in the medium
term, which should make a recovery
12 APRIL 2009
within a comparatively short period
reasonable.
The fact that speculators are out
of the market bodes well for Dubai
property sector as it brings in the
much-needed moderation, Nelson and
Marios Maratheftis, Regional Head of
Research, Middle East, North Africa
and Pakistan, pointed out.
They noted that the unprecedented
property boom had all the resources
being concentrated into real estate and
related sectors, thus leading to the ne-
glect of the real economy. Irrational
growth rates are giving way to more
sustainable levels and the importance
of the quality of growth, rather than
the quantity of growth, is being recog-
nized.
The UAE is one of the wealthiest
countries in the world and it should
not just be looking at strong growth
but at quality of growth, a sustain-
able growth. After all, the UAE is a net
lender to the world and the economy
continues to be strong.
The Standard Chartered execu-
tives observed that the region, with
its strong fundamentals, would be
quick to recover and at the same time
should aim at a “good quality, sustain-
able” growth instead of a high growth.
Unlike last year, which saw growth in
credit zoom to almost 50 per cent for
the UAE in June, a growth of 10-15 per
cent is desirable in the present situa-
tion.
Maratheftis estimated that the
Marios
Maratheftis
country’s 2009 inflation will be two-
three per cent. “The key drivers of in-
flation in 2008 – liquidity, cost of hous-
ing and cost of food, are not expected
to push it this year. I do not think in-
flation would be the focus of attention.
The risk of deflation, which we stand
exposed to in case credit crunch gets
severe and labour market deteriorates
further, is there but it s unlikely to hap-
pen,” he said.
“I think two-three per cent is a
healthy inflation for economy to have.
Now is an opportunity to reassess to
ensure we have lower but sustainable
rates of growth,” he pointed out.
He said the downside in the real es-
tate is in fact positive for the economy
as funds and human resources that
were being directed to the real estate
primarily can now be used for other
productive sectors of the economy as
well.
in loan-deposit ratio would come down If the Central Bank establishes a
from 13 per cent to 8 per cent. permanent mechanism for repo and
Card marketing
“The effect on individual banks may reverse repo, banks can sell their bonds companies with
be even more significant if these depos- and securities to the Central Bank
its were to be placed exclusively within against their fund requirements and multiple bank clients
Dubai based financial institutions,” buy them back at a future date. This have undergone major
said Mohamed Jaber, GCC economist would offer banks a permanent plat-
with Morgan Stanley. But he added that form for their liquidity needs, he said. downsizing as most
the potential systemic risk of depositing Though an auction system was in-
those funds in domestic banks may de- troduced for certificates of deposit
Dubai banks have
ter the government from doing so. (CDs) in the last quarter of 2007, it is simply pulled out from
“Given the debt refinancing needs not active now.
of Dubai’s public entities, it is highly By establishing a permanent repo the new issuance
probable that the government will need system, banks will have access to fund- market and restricted
to withdraw the majority of these funds ing ‘on tap’ and if this can be run on
over the next 12 months. This may in- different tenures of one, three or six the operations to the
deed prove to be systemically risky if
these funds were deposited within do-
months, banks will have a permanent
arrangement on which to fall back for
bare minimum
mestic financial institutions,” he said. their liquidity needs, he pointed out.
“Based on this, we believe that the
funds will most likely be held outside
domestic banks, with little net impact
on domestic liquidity.”
Although the central bank had es-
tablished a Dh50 billion emergency
funding facility to help the banks tide
over the liquidity crisis, this has not
helped significantly as the banks did
not find it a very attractive option. In
the first place the facility was offered at
a rate that the banks were not comfort-
able with and on top of that the banks
were reluctant to draw on the facility
as they feared their rating would be ad-
versely affected.
According to Shayne Nelson, Stand-
ard Chartered bank’s Regional CEO,
Middle East and North Africa, the
banks were reluctant to use this option
because of the worries that their credit
rating would be negatively impacted.
He said there was a mismatch between
the nature of the liquidity available with
the banks and the nature of the loan re-
quirements.
“Short-term funds cannot serve the
purpose as they bring in unhealthy li-
quidity, which cannot be relied on for
the long term,” Shayne Nelson pointed
out. According to him, this can be over-
come with the introduction of a perma-
nent repo system.

APRIL 2009 13
 COVER STORY
SURVIVAL
TECHNIQUES
Job market players adopt various measures
to stay in contention
By Ambily Vijaykumar
C
onservative estimates put the
number of residence visas
being cancelled in Dubai as
close to two thousand daily.
The figures for January this year were
reportedly 86 per cent more than the
same period in 2008- a stark reminder of
Dubai’s fall from favour with expatriate
jobseekers.
The Dubai Department of Interior
Naturalization and Residency, however,
clarifies that it is issuing more visas than
it is cancelling. In fact, the number of
visas issued outstripped the number of
visas cancelled by more than 30,000 in
the beginning of this year.
The increase in the number of cancel-
lations of visas is a reminder of the ex-
tent of the impact of the global economic
14 APRIL 2009
crisis on the regional market. Profes-
sionals largely in the construction, real
estate and banking sectors have been
shown the door by companies trying to
minimize the monetary impact of the
financial tsunami that struck last year.
As the top boss at a leading recruit-
ment agency in the Middle East puts
it, organizations laying-off people are
in many ways ‘shrinking to greatness’.
That greatness is being achieved by
‘trimming’ the workforce, decelerating
the hiring process and also by being
very choosy when it comes to recruit-
ing people.
If in 2008, both job-seekers and em-
ployers rode the tide of a market boom,
the same market has ebbed and has left
many stranded now. So what will hap-
pen of them?
Recruiters say that this crisis has in
fact given the market an opportunity
to reassess itself. Both employers and
employees will now look at long-term
prospects. They are also unequivocal
that with increased competition only
the best will survive these times.
But how does one define ‘the best’?
“A candidate who is very well qualified
and can multi-task,” says Rabea Ataya,
CEO of Bayt.com. That does not mean
that there is an opportunity for each
one of them. It is a shrinking market
and so the competition is stiff.
In 2008 job seekers were flocking
to Dubai and employers were blindly
filling in the blanks without assessing
requirements or capabilities. Both are
paying a price today. There are now re-
ports that Dubai is fast losing favour as
the preferred job destination.
Recruiters are split in their reaction
to these reports. Some do not attach
any credibility to them. “The amount of
talent seeking to be in Dubai is higher
than ever before, despite the crisis,”
says Rabea. With Dubai being plugged
into the global economy more than any
other emirate, the impact of any global
development is bound to be felt here
more, they say.
Those who differ say that Dubai’s
rhythm of growth will now be consid-
erably curtailed. “Instead of going at
200 kmph, it will now come down to
around 30 kmph,” says Dr Hussein Al
Baidany of Gulf Human Resources De-
Organizations are in many ways ‘shrinking
to greatness’ by ‘trimming’ the workforce,
decelerating hiring process and also by being
very choosy when it comes to recruiting
velopment in Abu Dhabi. unemployment, but of the prevailing
For job-seekers though, the op- uncertainty in the market. People who
tions have significantly narrowed. The have jobs are also flocking to test the
share of the job market pie is getting market.
smaller with leading recruiters regis- In terms of the business for recruit-
tering a doubling of applications they ers, being able to facilitate a growth in
received this year in comparison to the job market this year has hence be-
2008. Recruiters however say that is not come more challenging and ambitious.
necessarily a reflection of large scale The situation has been worsened by
APRIL 2009 15
It’s a waiting game
‘A correction after extremely rapid growth is natural’
Siobhan O’Reilly
B
usiness Aid Centre (BAC), a lead-
ing recruitment agency of the re-
gion, has no expectations of an
unrealistic growth that was characterized
by 2007 or 2008. The company is instead
falling back on the ‘strong relationship’ it
has cultivated with clients over the last 30
years to back the business this year.
The job market in general is ‘less buoy-
ant’, says Siobhan O’Reilly, Recruitment
Manager at BAC. “The market is experi-
encing a correction after a period of ex-
tremely rapid growth. This is a natural de-
velopment but involves a difficult process
of adjustment by companies as they look
to reduce costs,” she adds. The adjustment
has meant that there are larger redundan-
cies in some sectors and fewer opportuni-
ties in others.
Competition has heightened and with
it the power of bargaining has shifted from
the candidate to the client. The employer,
who was until last year rolling out the red
carpet to candidates, is calling the shots
now. As a result the rapid wage inflation
that had become a common feature in the
market has been reigned in.
This is not to say that worthy can-
didates are not being paid well, but the
bargaining power of job-seekers has been
greatly reduced. In the current economic
climate, candidates will have to settle for
lesser pay packages and more responsibil-
ities in a new job. Those working will also
have to settle for a cut if their company
takes the step to scale down expenses. Re-
16 APRIL 2009
cruiters in the UAE say that in times like
these, it is better to accept a pay cut than
lose the job.
Dubai’s breakneck growth over the
last few years had made it vulnerable, say
recruiters, because the growth was un-
sustainable over a long period. The bubble
had to crash, because it was largely built
on real estate and construction sector.
The market at the moment is experienc-
ing a correction that was long due. This
had led to job losses across the sector with
the Dubai job market taking a severe hit.
“Dubai was experiencing the fastest
growth rates, so the correction has been
felt most acutely here. This will have an
effect on the UAE as a whole, but the gen-
eral picture in Abu Dhabi remains posi-
tive,” says O’Reilly.
The other places in the Middle East
that are faring better include Qatar and
Saudi Arabia. Another reality staring the
region in the face is the large number of
people who are leaving. In Dubai this
situation is more acute than in the rest of
the UAE, because the emirate employed
the largest number of its workforce in the
construction and real estate sectors.
“This is not simply a local or a regional
problem, but an extension of the global
economic difficulties. The regional eco-
nomic picture still looks more positive
than the recessionary situation in the
USA and Europe,” adds O’Reilly.
By a positive picture, the recruiter
means that there is no total freeze on em-
ployment opportunities. While organisa-
tions might not be creating new posts by
the day, they are hiring new staff or look-
ing to replace employees who leave.
This has resulted in the onus shift-
ing to the candidate to prove credentials.
“Companies are going to be more selective
regarding current and potential staff. In-
dividuals who are highly productive and
flexible will always be well-placed. Poten-
tial employees will be required to really
demonstrate the value they can bring to
an organisation,” O’Reilly informs.
Companies are looking for value for
money when it comes to hiring talent.
They will now be more judicious in se-
lecting employees. Qualified candidates
with a consistent track record will get
preference over the rest. With cost-cut-
ting being the order of the day, candi-
dates who can multi-task will find them-
selves in a better position to get a job or
switch companies.
Candidates are also willing to change
tracks. Certain sectors that have nar-
rowed down recruitments to the bare
minimum will force many candidates to
look for other options. But BAC does not
believe that this option will work well.
“It is much harder to switch profes-
sions or industries when there is no
skills shortage in that area. The current
situation is therefore likely to make such
a move more challenging,” O’Reilly ex-
plains.
Despite the gloom in two of the larg-
est sectors in the economy, BAC be-
lieves there are sectors that offer scope
for growth this year. This includes the
FMCG, health and pharmaceuticals
sectors. For the remaining sectors it is
a matter of time before they start pick-
ing up. By extension that means that the
badly affected sectors will have to wait
for the market to bounce back.
When will that happen? “It is very dif-
ficult to say as there are so many factors
to consider. The price of oil is obviously
an important factor, but the general in-
ternational financial climate will have
an impact regionally. Another factor is
when the real estate market improves
and projects start moving again. The
steep decline in construction costs will
ultimately start to make some projects
viable again,” argues O’Reilly.
Till then recruiters, candidates and
employers will have to go through the
waiting game. Recruiters are also hope-
ful that once the market gets back on
track, it will open up new sectors for
growth and with it a definite possibility
of the job market revival in the UAE.
Ambily Vijaykumar
the severe beating several key sectors
have taken in the financial turmoil and
hence have virtually frozen further in-
take of manpower.
Banks in the US and Europe that
triggered the financial crisis, as also
their counterparts in the rest of the
world, are fighting for survival. Re-
cruitments in the financial sector in
Dubai that has had a more than com-
fortable leaning towards the real estate
sector have almost ground to a halt.
Development majors in the coun-
try have been plagued by lay-offs, with
several big budget projects being either
cancelled or postponed. Recruiters
also say that the cropping is happening
on the lower and middle end of the job
market. The top brass has been rela-
tively left unharmed.

The logic behind that being in a

situation like this, experience and
consistency are most valued. This has,
however, not stopped the many who
have survived the axing from looking
for greener pastures.
People are trying to ‘cover uncer-
tainties’ by finding out what else is on
offer in the market. So if it is their turn
next, they are not caught unawares. Re-
cruiters say they don’t encourage peo-
ple to switch jobs unless they see the
writing on the wall.
Many people in Dubai have a simi-
lar story to tell. They have reached a
dead end with commitments still on
hand and are now running from pil-
lar to post in search of an opportunity
that could help them either repay an
outstanding loan or pay for their rent
or children’s education. So has the situ-
ation now become a matter of survival
for people in the region?
“One of the issues that is plagu-
ing the Gulf is the high amount of in-
debtedness people are going through,
thanks to the practices of the boom
days with regard to car loans, personal
loans, credit cards and the likes,” says
Boyden Middle East Managing Direc-
tor Magdy El Zein. In several cases,
that is forcing people to even switch
professions, and in many cases even to
lower their salary expectations that do
not justify either their qualification or
experience.
Though recruiters say they are be-
ing flooded with applications from
candidates, employers have changed
their recruitment strategies. In times
Recruiters say that
with Dubai being
plugged into the
global economy
more than any
other emirate, the
impact of any global
development to be felt
here will also be more
when everyone is trying to cut cost,
prospective employers are opting to
sift through applications available with
various recruitment agencies and select
a candidate rather than advertise for
the post.
“A vast majority of my clients are us-
ing the database search to look for a tal-
ent pool,” says Rabea Ataya.
Bayt says there has been a decrease
in employers advertising for positions.
The reason being offered is that in the
process of ‘rationalizing’ their staff,
employers do not wish to advertise for
a post that has been left vacant because
someone has been laid off.
Moreover, employers felt that the
database access is a far more confiden-
tial way to assess what they want. This
many recruiters believe has resulted in
the balance of power shifting from the
candidate to the client.
“The positive aspect to this change
has been an end to the rapid wage in-
flation that was prevalent in the region
until recently,” says Cliff Single of re-
cruitment agency BAC.
Till last year, candidates could bar-
gain for very high wages since oppor-

APRIL 2009 17
tunities were abundant and clients were
on the lookout to either poach from
their competitors or to pay any price to
retain talent. That has surely been cur-
tailed now.
A large part of the employment still
being generated is through the need
to fill up vacant posts rather than new
posts being created due to any company
expansion. Companies are looking for
‘value for money’ and hence candidate
requirements have also become very
specific.
The question being asked now is
‘what can a potential employee bring to
an organisation’ rather than ‘what an
organisation can offer to an employee’,
says Cliff Single of BAC.
Real estate, finance, construction,
basically sectors that require huge capi-
tal injection, are the ones that are not
faring well currently, largely dimin-
ishing the recruitment possibilities in
these sectors. Alternatively recruiters
are voting for the FMCG (fast moving
consumer goods), health and pharma-
ceutical industry as well as insurance
and some professional services like
the legal sector and the debt collection
18 APRIL 2009
companies to do well in these times.
“Trading, especially since in the Gulf
wealth is held by historically trading
families, as well as manufacturing in
countries like Saudi will continue to do
well,” says Magdy El Zein of Boyden.
“The oil and natural gas sector rep-
resents the most critical sector of the
country. There have always been calcu-
lated steps of expansion and production
in this sector unlike the real estate and
construction sector which registered a
meteoric growth in the boom times. I
can safely say that the oil and natural
gas sector has so far not been as badly
affected as the other sectors,” says Dr
Al Baidany of GHRDC.
The shrinkage in the job market can
be assessed by the fact that all recruiters
say keeping up to their recruitment fig-
ures of 2008 will be a challenge. Hence
they are advocating flexibility and far
greater commitment as the key traits
for people to stay in the market.
Even relocating to another country
if a good opportunity comes ones, way
might not be a bad idea at this time,
they say. Despite recession being a glo-
bal phenomenon, recruiters say some
countries in the Middle East have been
less affected by the sudden dip in the
market since their exposure to the criti-
cally affected sectors has been the least.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco,
Lebanon, Qatar and Abu Dhabi get the
recruiters’ votes in terms of job market
performance this year.
Most recruiters are giving the mar-
ket a couple more years to get back
on track, but say the new market will
be unlike the ‘boom years’ market of
2007-08. For Dubai in particular, they
are unable to put a time-frame on when
the present market will bottom. But
with construction costs falling, they say
it will be a matter of time before some
projects become viable again for the
emirate that has a huge stake in the real
estate and construction sector that has
seen massive retrenchment.
Interestingly none of the recruiters
we spoke to said they have been hit by
lay-offs. Their way of cutting cost has
not been to reduce staff size but ex-
penses. Anything that is not generating
revenue is not required, they say; a prin-
ciple that most companies are living by
today.
Time to manage expectations
‘It is also a good time to be enterprising’
R
ecession is a time when you
work hard and earn less. It is
the time to manage expecta-
tions: a reality that Boyden Middle
East, a recruiter that exclusively deals
in executive level recruitment, is advo-
cating all candidates to internalize.
The recruitment industry, Boyden
says, is not as ‘dynamic’ as last year.
But that is also a relative assessment.
“Countries which have been affected
severely by the downturn in certain in-
dustry sectors are struggling as com-
pared to other countries that were not
advanced in developing that industry
sector. So if you take countries like Ku-
wait and Saudi, where there is a wide-
spread growth range of industry sec-
tors, they are less affected as compared
to countries where there is a high
amount of concentration on a couple
of sectors such as the financial markets
and property development,” says Man-
aging Director Magdy El Zein.
Generally, the pace of recruitment
is slow but it still exits. Considering
that Boyden caters to a very small seg-
ment of the talent pool, “the demand
is still there”. Breakneck speed at
which new construction projects were
being launched all over the UAE en-
sured that 2008 remained ‘buzzy’ for
Boyden. Now things are back to the
‘normal ways’ where people are trying
to manage what they already have.
With the construction and banking
sectors being hit badly, recruitments
in these fields have come to a naught.
The demand is largely for techni-
cal divisions and middle level posi-
tions in firms that are still recruiting.
Widespread uncertainty in the global
market is also forcing people to take a
more hands-on approach. People are
playing it by the day. “If a given week is
fine like the previous week, the coming
week too will be good,” says Magdy.
Sectors that need a huge capital in-
jection are lying low at the moment.
These include financial services in in-
It is difficult to predict anything right
now. You need a crystal ball to do that
and nobody has that,” Magdy says. The
picking up of the market, the recruiter
says, will happen only in the first half
of 2010 and that will be very slow.
On the contrary, trading, insur-
ance, professional services like debt
collection and the legal sector continue
to flourish in the current market. But
even the sectors that have not been
badly hit will not be recruiting heavily.
The loss of jobs is happening in the
lower rung of the hierarchy, claims
Magdy El Zein Boyden. It is only in dire situations
when a company is shutting down or
While several when a senior manager is retiring or
when the company feels that one ex-
researchers have ecutive can do the job of two is the axe
predicted that the falling on the top management. This,
however, is the ‘last resort,’ according
market recovery will to the recruiter.
be on the lines of a ‘V’, Like most recruiters Boyden has
seen a surge in the number of appli-
Boyden says it will be cants over the last few months. They
attribute it to ‘the need to cover uncer-
a ‘U’ instead tainty’ for candidates rather than a re-
vestment banking, automotives, and flection of massive retrenchment.
property development and even retail.
Boyden predicts that when the upturn
in the market happens there will be a
demand for a completely different skill
set as far as the financial industry is
concerned.
“That will be a huge advantage, be-
cause it will open the doors for more
multi-faceted talent to enter the job
market, since they will be entrusted
with the responsibility of implement-
ing the new financial services model,”
says Madgy.
Predicting the exact time for the
market to bounce back is the difficulty.
While several researchers have pre-
dicted that the market recovery will
be on the lines of a ‘V’, Boyden says it
will be a ‘U’ instead. “We are going to
stay at the bottom for a while. Again
this is the first time that we have a
world-wide crisis of this proportion.
APRIL 2009 19
 Another interesting trend that
the recruiter has noticed with regard
to candidates is their willingness to
switch professions. “People are doing
that because they are in a desperate
situation and when they know that
within their sector and specialty, they
are not going to find anything they
will definitely switch and that is ag-
gravated by the fact that in their home
country, things are no better. In the
past people used to go back home and
do something, now they cannot do
that either,” Madgy explains.
Has this desperate situation led to
candidates compromising on packages
and benefits to keep a job? According
to Boyden, there are two aspects to this.
Firstly, the quality of talent who were
unwilling to move to the Middle East
till a year back are making their way in
now. Even with a predicted growth rate
of only one or two per cent, the region
has managed to attract a variety of job
seekers. So in a scenario where people
are faced with either a pay reduction
or job loss, accepting the reduction is all businesses are also employing and can back themselves up for about a
prudent in these times since the em- this is also what is narrowing a candi- year or two, this is a very good time to
ployer has a large talent pool to choose date’s options when it comes to decid- be enterprising. Care needs to be given
from. The second aspect is employers ing the nature of the job ones wants though to the fact that banks are not
are looking at more cost effective ways to do. Places like Abu Dhabi that have very willing to finance small ventures.
of running their organizations. traditionally had a less aggressive ap- “Pick and chose a good sector, a sector
“Employers are going back and cut- proach will take a cue from the Dubai that is viable. Do you research properly
ting down on benefits totally or par- crash and continue to be restrained in and make sure that it is something that
tially. And that is what you do in the their approach. Those notwithstand- will work in the market now. And be
time of a recession. We have heard ing, governments in Abu Dhabi, Saudi ready to put twenty four hours of the
cases when they have reduced housing Arabia and Kuwait have announced day into it,” Magdy suggests.
allowances and are not ready to pay al- massive infrastructure projects. “Even Talking of business, Boyden had
lowances in advance,” says Magdy. if it is delayed by a few months, these a ten per cent lower performance in
Is Boyden also engaged in large- projects will be on track,” says Magdy. 2008 as compared to 2007. But the
scale cost-cutting? Infrastructure development hence company says that keeping up to last
“No we are not. We have instead offers ample room for recruitment this year’s performance would be ‘ambi-
decided not to spend unnecessarily. year. It will take more on the part of tious’ this year. The prediction is that
Anything that is not generating reve- the candidates to sell themselves in oil prices that have fallen to the $40 a
nue is not required. If we have to spend the fiercely competitive market. Apart barrel mark will rationalize and scale
some money attending a conference from being flexible and less demand- to about $60 a barrel. This Boyden says
where we can build good contacts, ing, people with jobs will have to learn will open up the possibility for Gulf
then we make it a point to go there. We to be happy with what they have. Can- states to be generous with their invest-
spend only when we are sure there is didates need to live with no bonuses ment spending; a situation that will
a good chance for us to grow,” Magdy and less or no perks. trigger more opportunities in the job
elaborates. Boyden recommends that for those market.
A conservative approach is what who have their finances in place and Ambily Vijaykumar

20 APRIL 2009
Talent still looks at Dubai
as land of opportunities
More global talent seeking out the emirate, says Bayt.com CEO
T
he CEO of Bayt.com, one of
the largest recruiters in the
Middle East, says that in the
last four months, he has hired
four Stanford graduates.
Despite graduating from the univer-
sity himself, he was unable to hire talent
from there for a very long time: the rea-
son being graduates from the university
demanded sky-high salaries till recently.
But that has changed: a scenario that he
says is reflective of two aspects. Firstly,
shrinking of the Europe and US job
market and secondly, the emergence of
the Middle East as a preferred job des-
tination.
Talent that was not considering the
region a year back is now lapping up op-
portunities that the area is providing.
Despite the crash in the real estate, con-
struction and banking sectors, the UAE
in general and Dubai in particular have
become a hot favorite with aspirants,
claims Rabea Ataya, CEO of the online
job portal.
“The amount of global talent seeking
to be in Dubai is higher than it has ever
been, even now, despite the crisis. It is
a global crisis and people still perceive
Dubai as a land of opportunities. When
you look at what is happening in other
parts of the world, particularly those
who are abroad are looking at Dubai
and thinking that it is a good place to be
in. Now whether or not there are enough
jobs to absorb them remains to be seen,”
says Rabea. The proof of the growth of
interest in the Middle East as a job mar-
ket is in the doubling of registrations
on Bayt.com, he says. This doubling has
happened in the last six months.
The flip side to the story is that there
is massive retrenchment in the real
estate, construction and banking sec-
tors, which has lead to an increase in
the number of people looking out for a
Rabea Ataya
job. Bayt believes that for those who are
on the lookout for great talent, this is a
great time to be recruiting. But there is
increased competition considering that
there are limited opportunities and far
greater talent vying for them. The exist-
ing global scenario has left room only
for talented individuals who are flexible
and who employers believe will serve
their long-term interests.
That is contrary to the picture a year
back when both employers and job seek-
ers were spoilt for choice. The result
was that both of them were moving so
quickly in an already speeding market,
that none of them could be as selective
as they would have wanted to be. So em-
ployers ended up recruiting talent that
did not serve their larger interest and
candidates ended up skipping jobs for
higher remuneration.
“Both have reassessed now. Candi-
dates are far more interested in longer-
term prospects and employers are also
interested in far greater talent,” says
Ataya. An attempt at finding that talent
is the virtual job fair organized by the
portal every year. Into its fifth year this
time, the event has already seen close to
100,000 job seekers using the platform
to look for opportunities. The VJF this
year organized in the last week of March
assumed more significance in the light
of increased global unemployment.
With an opportunity for employers
to “reduce expenses by 50 per cent” by
not having to organize their individual
job fairs and a chance for job seekers to
reach out to more companies, events like
these have become a means to bridge the
gap between demand and supply of tal-
ent.
This talent, Ataya says, is still looking
at Dubai as a land of opportunities. “One
of the interesting things about this place
is that it still has the lowest entry barriers
for entrepreneurial ventures and these
ventures while they might not automati-
cally hire a great amount of people they
are able to create real employment that is
sustainable. And so it is no longer about
a particular company hiring thousands
of people, but I see more and more peo-
ple coming in and opening smaller ven-
tures across every industry and looking
at Dubai as what it has always been, a
place to service the rest of the region.”
Confidence in the emirate is also
based on “the ability of its broad based
economy to take a hit much more ef-
fectively,” argues Ataya. Layoff numbers
especially in the construction sector are,
however, adding up every day. “That is
because the sector employed the maxi-
mum number of people. The numbers
will obviously reflect that,” he adds.
Dubai’s massive investments in the con-
struction sector are also blamed for the
severe hit the emirate’s job market has
taken. Unlike the rest of the country,
Dubai was never playing it safe.
Ataya comes to Dubai’s defense. “The
driving engines of the UAE economy
APRIL 2009 21
have always been Dubai and Abu Dhabi
in their own separate ways. Dubai tends
to be the more internationalized of the
two and obviously what happens inter-
nationally is reflected more in Dubai
than it is on Abu Dhabi. So if you have
international organizations and they
are having global layoffs, you are going
to feel that locally too. That comes with
being switched into a global economy. I
think Dubai is part of the global econ-
omy and so it will be affected as a part
of it.”
There is a fear though that the cur-
rent situation will lead to people shift-
ing loyalties from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.
Ataya disagrees with that argument. He
believes Dubai has a unique selling point
much like Abu Dhabi has its own. Du-
bai’s USP is that it remains an easy place
to do business and has attracted large
number of people on that basis. Abu
Dhabi for that matter with its huge oil
wealth supports a different industry. So
traditionally people who have remained
loyal to the capital will continue to do
that and those who have their loyalties
towards Dubai will continue to come to
the city and make it their base.
Dubai with its open economy has
also made itself far more vulnerable to
the global economic crisis than several
of its counterparts in the Middle East.
Economies that have remained closed
or have been plagued by political un-
rests and hence have lost out on foreign
investment in the last two decades are
not feeling the pinch at the moment.
“What worked against you in the last
two decades is now working for you in
the sense that if you are out of the game,
the game hasn’t affected you but if you
were in the game, you are affected to
the extent you were in the game,” ex-
plains Ataya. Countries like Morocco
and Lebanon have seen zero layoffs so
far, he says.
Bayt believes that even if companies
are laying off people, they are hiring
more talent. The difference this time
is that the power has shifted from the
candidate to the employer, who is now
22 APRIL 2009
looking at upgrading the talent pool. Ensuring that they have enough cash
Most of Bayt’s clients are going the on the books will help them to quickly
backdoor way. Instead of advertising hire people when there is an upswing
for a vacancy, they are using the por- in the market. Even for those who have
tal’s database of candidates to choose not been a victim of the retrenchment
the most eligible ones. This has made drive that is on at the moment, looking
the hiring process a more confidential for opportunities is what recruiters rec-
one. ommend.
“We are seeing a decrease in em- “The worst time to look for an op-
ployers advertising for their positions portunity is when you are out of it. You
and part of the reason for that is that if become far more desperate, you com-
you have to rationalize your staff and promise much more and so it is worth
you are letting people go, you don’t at all times, knowing what is out there
want to advertise the fact that you are in the market and being proactive about
recruiting for the post. That does not your long-term career prospects. It is a
reflect well on people who have been very bad time to act as though nothing
asked to leave,” Ataya explains. is happening,” he recommends.
The quest now with all employers is That however does not mean that
for increased productivity. The irony people should take their present jobs for
of the situation is that in times when granted. “It is important to be far more
the market is undergoing dramatic dedicated in current job even if you are
Even if companies are
laying off people, they are
hiring more talent and
the difference this time is
that the power has shifted
from the candidate to the
employer, who is now looking
at upgrading the talent pool
changes it is the recruiters who stand looking elsewhere because employers
to gain even from this downtrend. have far more choice than they ever
“It has been a positive story so far for had. So the commitment to a job while
us,” says Ataya. “We feel we will be the you are on it has to be far greater than
benefactors of the downturn. But we there ever has been,” says Ataya.
remain the most cost-effective, quick As for the recruitment industry,
and easy way to recruit. From the em- Ataya feels innovation is the key to sur-
ployers’ point of view they can employ vival. The internet offers a wide option
up to a thousand people for as low as a to reach to a cross section of the work
thousand dollars.” force and this is something Bayt is aim-
Cost-effectiveness is also the tar- ing to build on. In the past, several big
get of all companies adapting a new and small recruiters have set up shop in
strategy of self-preservation. They are the region to capitalise on the booming
doing so in order to have the flexibil- market.
ity to grow when the times improve. Ambiy Vijaykumar
REAL ESTATE
‘Wait-and-watch’
becomes panic
Dubai property outlook continues to be bleak as funding options evaporate
W
hat started as a state
of lower overall con-
fidence and investors
adopting a wait-and-
watch mentality in the Dubai property
sector has developed into widespread
negative sentiment and even panic in
some cases. With properties continu-
ing to remain prohibitive for the actual
users in the near total absence of fi-
nancing options, the outlook is indeed
bleak.
According to the latest EFG-Hermes
report on the UAE property market,
speculative froth continues to exit the
market with defaults occurring, partic-
ularly on properties sold during 2008,
and distress sales becoming more com-
mon. EFG analysts say their previous
concern that negative sentiment and
the trickle of speculators walking away
from deposits could turn into a flood
now is becoming real.
The lack of liquidity remains a ma-
jor concern as mortgage companies
and banks have significantly curtailed
lending for home purchases. The lack
of funding has limited buying activity
in the market although some lending
does remain, solely on a case-by-case
basis, with average loan to value ratios
having dropped from 70-80 per cent to
55-60 per cent, thus making it largely
prohibitive for new buyers. In terms of
transactional activity, while the market
had only started slowing in 4Q2008,
anecdotal evidence suggests there is
very limited buying activity, supported
24 APRIL 2009
by data from the Land Department.
EFG-Hermes Residential Pricing
Index for Dubai points to a cumulative
decline in prices since October 2008 of
13.5 per cent. While acknowledging
that this index is a trailing indicator
as it is based on list prices with actual
transaction prices likely to be materi-
ally lower, the analysts, however, point
out that it serves as a useful directional
guide to the market and in this case
shows that prices are in a steady down-
ward trend which they believe will
continue.
A compilation of comparison be-
tween peak prices and current trans-
action prices through discussions and
listings from brokers and industry
professionals shows that since there
are currently so few property trans-
actions, it could be a possibility that
the final price at which a transaction
is completed may end up being lower,
with the magnitude of the difference a
function of bargaining power between
buyer and seller and the associated lev-
el of distress/urgency. The investment
bank has a view on the new segmenta-
tion of the market.
Old Dubai: Observed price correc-
tions in Old Dubai (estimated at 23 per
cent) have been relatively muted due
to limited supply. Albeit, newer off-
plan products launched for sale in this
area have, however, experienced larger
price drops underlining the nature of
speculative activity.
Central Dubai: Developments lo-
cated in this area noted an average 35
per cent drop. Analysts believe this is
largely a result of high-priced product
purchased speculatively during 2008,
which has now been abandoned by
buyers due to their inability to meet
subsequent payments. High-priced
primary market product set a new
floor for the secondary market, with
speculators buying into the possibility
of flipping. With the turn in the mar-
ket and limited opportunities available
for re-selling properties, sellers are
now willing to shave off a considerable
amount from original prices, mostly
due to funding constraints. While
maintaining the negative impact of this
speculation, they, however, believe that
projects located in Central Dubai will
continue to be exclusive, owing to the
fact that this area is the downtown core
of Dubai, is geographically constrained
and new residential supply makes up
just 10 per cent of total supply.
New Dubai and Outer New Dubai:
Both New Dubai and Outer New Dubai
are areas where a significant amount of
new development is expected to occur.
Analysts always had doubts about the
overall viability of these areas, given
the scale and number of projects as well
as the ‘if’ factor, i.e., the ability of these
outlying areas to become new hubs of
activity and tourist spots. They note
that the observed average price declines
of 42 per cent and 36 per cent confirm
this scepticism. Moreover, it also helps
substantiate the view that the overall
master plan of many projects in both
these expansive geographic zones is
likely to change. It is believed that while
work will continue on projects that are
currently under way or where the fund-
ing has been secured, there may be some
delays or amendments to future phas-
es. There is a greater probability that
projects which are at an earlier stage
could be severely delayed or more likely
cancelled.
Office market
The commercial sector is also weak-
ening, with prices estimated to have
dropped 20 per cent on average from
peak levels in 2008. The commercial
sector had only recently started to gain
traction, with businesses looking at the
alternative of buying versus renting in a
tight office market, as well on the expec-
tation of high forward-looking yields.
With the UAE immersed in an envi-
ronment of slower growth, cost-cutting
initiatives, layoffs and expansion plans
on hold, rental inflation has started to
ease. EFG-Hermes estimates that in
4Q2008, rents in Dubai declined 3 per
cent on average and this decline has
continued in 2009, with rents having
cooled 9 per cent year to date. Moreo-
ver, with property prices slumping,
cash-rich investors that were previously
more inclined towards holding onto
units have now started releasing them
in the hope of deriving rental income,
with the release of this previously held-
back supply helping to calm rents in
some locations.
The analysts note that interestingly,
rental rate inflation in Abu Dhabi is also
abating, despite the paucity of new sup-
ply and strong demand. In Abu Dhabi,
landlords seem to be becoming more
rational in terms of expectations, tak-
ing into account weaker liquidity and
exorbitant rental rates which were be-
coming prohibitive. High rent levels are
also driving some professional expatri-
ates to live in Dubai but work in Abu
Dhabi which is exerting some down-
ward pressure on rents in the capital.
EFG expects 2009 to be a year of overall
rental stability in Abu Dhabi, stemming
less from tight demand-supply esti-
mates but more from a conscious effort
to make living in the city bearable for
residents.
It is believed that rental rates in Du-
bai can decline in the 20-50 per cent
range from peaks in 2009, depending
on location and the scale of increase in
local supply. However, the actual de-
crease in rents will depend more on the
quantity of demand, with the expecta-
tion being that the population decreas-
es as construction, real estate, financial
services, tourism and retail (key con-
tributors to Dubai’s GDP growth) note
a decline in 2009. The analysts point out
that such a view was also echoed by the
CEO of RERA, during a recent press
round-table conference where it was
suggested a 50 per cent rental decline
seemed likely in the light of weaker de-
mand. One support factor, worthy of
mention, which may result in a milder
drop in Dubai rents, could be the po-
tential re-migration of working profes-
sionals from Sharjah and Ajman back
APRIL 2009 25
to Dubai (who had previously escaped during the first half of next year, with the supply estimates are based on units
to these low-rent havens to avoid pay- prices starting to rise again in second previously assumed to be sold and cur-
ing exorbitant Dubai rents). half of next year or early 2011. rently being constructed, hence shall be
EFG believes that the recent drop in EFG has made a series of amend- delivered over time and does not include
commercial rents in Dubai is in keep- ments to its assumptions for arriving the impact of new inventory released for
ing with slower demand but is also a at revised forecasts for demand and sale.
worrying sign as it suggests that not supply of housing units in both Dubai They expect new supply in Dubai to
only are businesses looking to trim and Abu Dhabi. Its demand estimates come on to the market at a slower pace.
existing operations, but also that new reflect the required demand for hous- In addition, with the assumption of a
businesses are no longer flocking to ing, based on population estimates, i.e. negative population growth in 2009, it
Dubai. With other global financial cen- the incremental growth in the size of is believed that demand for housing will
tres experiencing a marked slowdown the population, as well as the assump- also be impacted. However, if demand
and economic data pointing to a state tion of household size which results in remains weak, there is a possibility for
of prolonged recession, office rents an estimate for the number of housing pent-up demand from previous years to
in all global markets have eased. Abu units required. absorb supply that comes on stream. It
Dhabi office rents on the other hand The analysts say that ideally, they is important to remember that housing
continue to rise, reflective of tight sup- would like to quantify demand as be- units demanded is a function of both
ply with respect to quality space and ing the number of housing units being organic growth, from residents within
strong demand. purchased. In order to do this, there Dubai (renters and buyers) as well as for-
EFG’s previous assumptions for the is need for better quality information eign buyers, with both groups expected
Dubai market were for prices to start such as official figures of population to contract significantly in 2009, hence
declining in second half of this year size, segmentation by income and oc- underpinning the overall negative net
and registering a cumulative drop of cupation etc, which is currently una- unit demand estimate, EFG points out.
15-20 per cent by 2011. Worsening sen- vailable. Two support factors for demand
timent in late 2008 suggested that this In terms of supply, the estimates could be the continued mismatch be-
decline was likely to be more front-end are based on housing units expected to tween type of supply being delivered and
loaded. Meanwhile, for Abu Dhabi, be delivered, based on the announced real demand and falling rents in Dubai,
with no major new additions of resi- project pipeline. The analysts say they which would encourage professionals
dential units expected before 2010, it is have factored in reduced project scope working in Dubai, but living in neigh-
estimated that prices will grow 100 per and delays, given the current more con- bouring emirates, to move to the emirate
cent for the whole of 2008, followed by strained liquidity environment. Again, and avoid lengthy commutes.
a further 15-20 per cent rise in 2009.
These ‘soft landing’ assumptions have
now given way to a full scale ‘correc-
tion’, given the worsening impact of
the global financial crisis on the local
economies
It is estimated that residential pric-
es in Dubai have dropped 34 per cent
on average since their observed peaks
in 2008. The assumption is that there
is further room to go, with an overall
price decline of 50-60 per cent possible,
suggesting that prices could drop on av-
erage another 20-30 per cent before the
market hits rock bottom. At these lev-
els, prices would be closer to 2006 lev-
els. Sentiment may improve in 2010 in
tandem with better investor confidence
and the availability of a wider variety
of home finance options. Therefore,
the analysts expect prices to stabilise

26 APRIL 2009
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Escape Ajman.indd 1 4/1/09 3:28:48‭ ‬PM

REAL ESTATE

Dubai population
seen falling 17%
Decline to affect overall economic growth performance

E
FG-Hermes has forecast that
Dubai’s population would
decline by over 17 per cent
this year, reflecting a change
in the emirate’s economic reality and
further affecting the growth perform-
ance. The sharp fall is expected to bring
down the total UAE population by as
much as 5.5 per cent, the investment
bank says.
“We believe the impact of the glo-
bal financial crisis will be particularly
harsh in Dubai, compared to the other
emirates and the rest of the region. This
is because of both the highly leveraged
and externally facing nature of the Du-
bai economy. We will see a slowdown or
contraction in a number of economic
sectors, most notably in real estate and
construction as projects are cancelled
or put on hold. We are forecasting that
the construction population of Dubai
will fall 30 per cent in 2009e. The fall in
population will further result in weak- A number of other sectors also driven lieve that Dubai’s construction worker
er demand for housing,” EFH analysts by real estate, such as advertising and population will further decline in 2010
said in a report. marketing, will see a contraction in by 5 per cent as more projects are com-
The cancellation of projects and the numbers. Outside of property, many pleted, while the non-construction ex-
sharp correction in property prices will other sectors, such as financial, will patriate population will remain steady.
also lead to weakness in other sectors also see job losses due to the global The expatriate population of the other
related to property, outside construc- slowdown, the analysts said. emirates is also expected to contract as
tion. There have been announcements They have forecast a 13 per cent projects are cancelled or put on hold, al-
of substantial job losses in real estate decline in Dubai’s non-construction beit not to the same degree as Dubai
and property development companies. population. Looking ahead, they be- But Abu Dhabi’s population will

28 APRIL 2009
grow with the continued implementa-
tion and expansion of its investment
plan, albeit at a slower rate than in
2008, EFG said. Growth in construc-
tion workers is seen slowing to 7 per
cent in 2009, from 15 per cent in 2008.
According to the report, there will
also be a deceleration in non-construc-
tion expatriate population growth to 5
per cent in 2009 from an estimated 10
per cent in the previous year. Further-
more, it is estimated that the national
population will continue to grow at
more than 3 per cent on an annual ba-
sis. No deceleration is seen on this front.
These factors will help to limit the over-
all fall in UAE population in 2009, but
will not be sufficient to compensate for
Abu Dhabi’s population
will grow with the
continued implementation
and expansion of its
investment plan, albeit at
a slower rate than in 2008
the contraction in Dubai’s population,
the analysts point out.
The report points out that the UAE’s
robust population growth since the be-
ginning of the decade reflects the strong
economic activity of that period but also
has been an important factor driving
the economic expansion. Population
growth was predominantly driven by
the large influx of expatriates, which
boosted private consumption as num-
bers increased but also as they spent to
establish homes. Moreover, the robust
population growth also resulted in an
increase in planned real estate projects
and investment as housing supply could
not keep up with demand. The supply/
demand mismatch in housing also re-
sulted in a sharp increase in rents, push-
ing up inflation.
UAE’s population surged in 2001-
2008, growing by a compound annual
growth rate of 7.0 per cent based on of-
ficial figures and estimates. Much of the
population growth was initially driven
by Dubai as a result of the implementa-
tion of its investment programme and
the strong performance of its wider
economic base. The number of residents
grew by a CAGR of 9.5 per cent during
the same timeframe.
Sharjah also realised robust popula-
tion growth, although this was mostly
spillover from Dubai owing to the lat-
ter’s housing supply constraints and
rising rental costs. EFG believes that
the UAE population growth accelerated
in 2007 and 2008 as Dubai increased its
investment programme, the expansion
of investment programmes by other
emirates (most notably Abu Dhabi) and
the strong performance of in the non-
oil sector (such as finance, real estate,
tourism, etc) resulted in the expansion
of their labour force. The population
growth is believed to have accelerated
to 7.7 per cent in 2007 and 8.8 per cent
in 2008.
In addition to the influx of expatri-
ates, the growth of the national popu-
lation is also estimated to have been
strong. UAE nationals account for 20.1
per cent of the population, according
to data from the 2005 census. Given
Dubai’s strong population growth, it
is believed that the expatriate popula-
tion would make up a larger portion of
the population in Dubai than the wider
UAE.
The report says that the fall in the
UAE’s population will further add to
the downward pressure on the econo-
my and will have a marked impact on
domestic demand. Given the level of
uncertainty regarding the macroeco-
nomic environment, those with jobs
will have a greater propensity to save.
Moreover, with the correction in the
real estate sector, the level of wealth de-
struction will be greater than in other
GCC countries. Consumption will be
further suppressed with the fall in tour-
ism numbers and spending.
As a result of the deteriorating
outlook in the non-oil sector and sub-
sequent fall in population levels, EFG
analysts have increased the forecast con-
traction in the UAE economy to 1.7 per
cent in 2009, from a minor contraction
of 0.04 per cent when the growth fore-
cast was revised in January 2009. It is
now forecast that private consumption
will fall by over 13 per cent in nominal
terms in 2009, with the outflow of non-
construction expatriate workers having
a far greater impact on the economy.
Also forecast is a greater deceleration
in investment growth as a significant
number of projects, especially resi-
dential property, are being cancelled.
The main factor for the contraction in
nominal and real GDP will still remain
net exports, owing to the lower oil price
and production.
“In a more negative case scenario, if
we assume that all the estimated gains
in population that were realised in 2008
were eroded in 2009 and that we went
back to 2007e population levels, we be-
lieve real GDP growth would contract
by 1.9-2.1 per cent. This would assume
a further deterioration in both the in-
vestment and private consumption out-
looks,” the analysts concluded.
APRIL 2009 29
PRIVATE BANKS

Private bankers are

not going away
Strategies of groups like Lombard Odier more relevant today,
says Regional MD Pasha Bakhtiar

W
ith the US Administra- The group has an active presence been active in the Middle East, offering
tion prevailing upon in the world’s leading financial centers its suite of private banking services and
the Swiss authorities with 23 offices in 17 countries world- solutions for over 50 years.
to lift banking secrecy wide. With 111 billion euro under man- Pasha Bakhtiar does agree that the
laws to help track US citizens’ ill-gotten agement, the Group has a headcount private bank business is going through
money stashed in Swiss bank accounts, of 1,800 and offers its clients a broad one of its worst periods, as any investing
and public opinion in many countries, range of asset management advice, fi- business is, due to the financial melt-
particularly India, putting pressure on nancial products and specialized serv- down, which has been further clouded
their respective governments to pursue ices. The representative office in Dubai by perceptions about the US investiga-
similar action, the Swiss private bank- was set up in 2007, but the group has tions rather than realities. In the current
ing business has come into the spot-
light.
Swiss bank secrecy laws made neu-
tral Switzerland a popular destination
for capital during World War II, and for
generations the confidentiality of bank
customers has been a hallmark of the
country’s banking business.  But bow-
ing to pressure from the US adminis-
tration, Switzerland recently agreed to
ease its rules and promised to cooperate
with other countries on cases of tax eva-
sion and said it would no longer protect
wealthy foreigners accused of stashing
billions of dollars in secret bank vaults.
The well-entrenched and most fa-
voured private bank destination has
been threatened with blacklisting by
the G-20, which is keeping the issue
red-hot. BBR spoke to Pasha Bakhtiar,
Managing Director at the Dubai Rep-
resentative Office of Lombard Odier
Darier Henstch, described as the oldest
firm of private bankers in Geneva and
one of the largest in Europe.

30 APRIL 2009
situation, no asset class can be totally
risk-free and investors concerns in this
respect are fully justified. But the most
important task now is how best to ne-
gotiate the choppy waters and take the
boat to safety, which he says his group is
strongly placed to achieve on account of
its conservationist strategies.
As for the negative publicity brought
in by the US move and the demand for
similar action by other governments
in various parts of the world, Bakhtiar
clarifies that the US action does not
cover the whole private bank business
of Switzerland and information has
been sought on specific cases involving
specific entities and the authorities have
provided all the required information.
According to him, this course of action
is open to any government, desirous of
tracking down offensive money.
But the Swiss private banker is quick
to point out that this does not mean that
all the money lying with Swiss banks
originate from questionable sources.
“In fact, contrary to popular belief, it is
not easy to open an account with a Swiss
bank. There are specialized teams in
each bank, rigorously checking each ap-
plication, questioning the source of the
funds and safeguarding against misuse
of the system. The banks don’t accept
an account unless its investigators are
convinced that all the filtering has been
gone through satisfactorily,” he asserts.
The term ‘private banker’ is pro-
tected by a collective trademark regis-
tered with the Swiss Federal Institute of
Intellectual Property by the Swiss Pri-
vate Bankers Association (SPBA) and
the trademark can be used only by the
members of the SPBA and other banks
which fulfill all the criteria.
Pasha Bakhtiar joined Lombard
Odier Darier Hentsch in 2003. As a
member of the special affairs team, he
spearheaded key projects within the
bank and formulated its business plan
for the Middle East, which culminated
in the launch of the representative office
in Dubai. The operation is licensed by
the UAE central bank and not the Du-
Pasha Bakhtiar
bai Financial Services Authority.
Bakhtiar says he is very optimistic
about the Middle East, which according
to him, continues to have an impressive
growth story. And as for his group, its
investment philosophy is to preserve
and grow capital and this strategy has
once again been proved right as invest-
ment ideas based on reckless risk-tak-
ing has led to the undoing of all other
themes.
“We have a long-run investment ap-
proach, which excludes any focus on
tactical investments, toxic structured
products, nor areas where it has no
understanding of the markets. In re-
maining committed to this philosophy
Lombard Odier has steered through 200
years of existence and weathered the
many financial storms along the way”.
The second feature of Lombard
Odier’s success is unlimited liability
– the partners that own the bank run
the bank. “They are investing their own
money in the bank. The unlimited li-
ability over 7 generations of partner-
ship has instilled a great responsibility
in them. How they manage the money
of others is how they manage their own
money,” he said.
“We benefit from the long-term ori-
entation of our investment philosophy,
as well as from the fact that our cor-
porate culture places clients’ interests
above those of individuals or the Firm.
As this has been the case for over two
centuries, clients turn to us in view of
the security we offer.”
No wonder, unlike other private
banks and investment banks, Lombard
Odier has not been affected to any sig-
nificant degree by the current crisis in
the banking industry, he pointed out.
The group claims it has no exposure to
toxic investments, Madoff or the credit
crunch.
Founded in 1796, Lombard Odi-
er  Darier Hentsch & Cie offers its pri-
vate and institutional clients a wide
range of advisory services in wealth
management, financial products, and
specialized areas. Its offices include Ge-
neva, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bermuda,
Brussels, Dubai, Gibraltar, Hong Kong,
Istanbul, Jersey, Lausanne, London,
Lugano, Madrid, Montreal, Nassau,
Paris, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo,
Tokyo, Vevey and Zurich.
Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch &
Cie is directed by nine Managing Part-
ners, who represent the seventh genera-
tion of private bankers in charge of the
company. They are both owners and
managers, as much involved in strategy
and management as in serving clients.
The group says its portfolio manag-
ers enjoy the privilege of sharing their
clients’ confidence. “Together they build
up a relationship of trust, based on con-
tinuity and the greatest respect for per-
sonal privacy. By listening attentively to
their clients’ needs, they are able to take
a global approach to each financial situ-
ation and come up with tailor-made so-
lutions meeting the highest professional,
ethical and quality standards.”
According to the group, since the
partners are both owners and managing
directors, they are as concerned as their
clients to see their business succeed. Be-
cause they are not subject to shareholder
pressure, the constraints of operating
in a large group and inherent conflicts
of interest, the partners are also able
to  maintain a long-term  vision and to
develop mutual trust with their clients,
the cornerstone of any relationship, it
says.
APRIL 2009 31
RISK MANAGEMENT
PROPERTY
Banks must do better
The financial crisis has revealed all too starkly the vulnerability of
banks to severe market shocks
By Simon Baker
T
he difficulties in the financial
markets have continued to
an extent that nobody fore-
saw, or arguably could have
foreseen. Governments and monetary
authorities globally have taken critical
action to try to prevent the collapse of
their financial systems.
The quality of the governance in
many firms has been questionable.
Regulators are considering the actions
that they will need to take to create an
environment where confidence may be
32 APRIL 2009
restored. More intrusive regulation is
the inevitable repercussion of this.
While the current crisis is unprec-
edented in modern times, it is true that
many banks might have been better
prepared had they subjected their busi-
ness models to severe stress and sce-
nario testing. While some may claim
that this was indeed the case, it would
be interesting to know whether there
were any who felt that they would have
to raise more capital as a consequence.
This article focuses on the key areas
of stress and scenario testing, on which
the UK’s Financial Services Authority
(FSA) published a Consultation Paper
(CP08/24) in December 2008.
The concept of stress and scenario
testing is not new. Some banks have
indeed recognised the benefits of bet-
ter understanding the resilience of their
business. This has been reinforced by
regulators through the need to stress
test their portfolios as part of the Inter-
nal Capital Adequacy Assessment Proc-
ess (ICAAP). However, the FSA has
concluded that in its experience “...for
many firms, stress and scenario testing
is not as robust, nor as embedded in
senior management decision-making,
as we would like.”
Stress and scenario testing is the an-
alytical process involved in subjecting
a bank’s portfolios to a series of tests
in order to assess their potential vul-
nerability to exceptional yet plausible
events. They are intended to establish
whether a bank has enough capital to
absorb losses in a recession. They enable
banks to obtain a better understanding
of portfolio risk and make potential
losses clear. Stress testing is an effective
and necessary tool that complements
statistical models for quantifying and
monitoring risk and capital adequacy.
So what forms can stress testing can
take?
Real world scenarios from past ex-
perience are sometimes better to use,
since buy-in can be more easily achieved
from business leaders, who may more
readily regard them as plausible. This
risks, however, underestimating the
impact of potential future crises as has
been the experience recently. Equally,
scenarios are rarely exactly repeated,
since controls will have usually been
implemented to attempt to prevent re-
currence.
Single factor tests are intended to
show how portfolios react to changes
in relevant economic variables (e.g.
interest rate changes) or risk param-
eters. They can be performed rapidly
and provide senior management with a
‘quick and dirty’ idea of the impact of a
change in a financial variable.
Scenario tests should be designed
to consider the resilience of firms and
the financial system to exceptional but
plausible scenarios. They assess how the
selected events might impact on the rel-
evant risk factors in a firm’s portfolio.
Scenarios can be either event or portfo-
lio driven.
• Event-driven approaches identify
risk sources that will cause changes
in financial markets followed by an
The quality of
governance in
many firms has
been questionable;
so regulators are
considering actions that
they need to take to
create an environment
where confidence may
be restored
assessment of the extent to which
risk parameters may change should
such an event occur.
• Portfolio-driven approaches start
with an assessment of which pa-
rameter changes might result in a
portfolio loss and assess what kind
of events might bring about these
changes.
Historical scenarios rely on signifi-
cant past events and are based on actual
data. They therefore tend to be more
fully articulated and require less judg-
mental input. One drawback is that they
may be less suited to the actual risk pro-
file of the firm and may not adequately
take account of recent advances in risk
APRIL 2009 33

taking.
Hypothetical scenarios will be based
upon market events or macro-econom-
ic scenarios that have not yet occurred.
They will be labour-intensive to con-
struct, require judgment and specialist
expertise. While historic data may be
used to help devise the scenario, such
an approach may lack support from the
business due to the perceived artificial
nature of the exercise. Arguably, how-
ever, the more widespread and effective
use of hypothetical scenarios ahead of
34 APRIL 2009
Under reverse stress
testing firms will be
required to identify and
assess the scenarios
most likely to cause
their current business
plan to become unviable
the current chaos may have prepared
firms better to face the ensuing im-
pacts.
Hybrid scenarios have become
more commonplace. They use histori-
cal market moves as inputs, but do not
necessarily link to a specific historical
crisis. They need to strike a balance be-
tween realism and comprehensibility
to gain the serious engagement of the
business in considering the potential
impacts and mitigating action needed.
Contagion takes into account the
transmission of shocks from individual
exposures or portfolios across a finan-
cial services group as a whole and po-
tentially across the financial system.
This is an area that financial institu-
tions have often found difficult to assess
in the past, but it is a risk that has crys-
tallized alarmingly during the current
market turbulence.
Designing scenarios that will prove
useful to the business is not as straight-
forward as it may seem. While firms
have clearly undertaken exercises as a
result largely of regulatory necessity,
there has been too often a reluctance
to entertain scenarios that might upset
the status quo. This is changing due to
present circumstances and as a conse-
quence of supervisory insistence. Not-
withstanding this, the construction of
scenarios can often ignore some poten-
tially key elements such as:
• Time horizon - the near term is
used most often while a longer time
horizon may be more appropriate
as some macro-economic impacts
may take more than a year to filter
through.
• Unexpected illiquidity - many crises
are characterized by an abrupt lack
of liquidity in the markets. This ele-
ment was not adequately addressed
previously, but is now a key aspect of
any meaningful test.
• Lack of hedges - hedging instru-
ments may be rendered invalid dur-
ing stress events. Reliance on these in
a time of crisis will probably project
an over optimistic outcome.
• Aggregation - the aggregation of the
effects of stress tests performed at a
risk type level raises issues regarding
diversification benefits.
• Correlation - levels that prevail in
ordinary conditions may cease to
exist under exceptional events.
Stress tests should be all encompassing
and cover primarily credit risk, market
risk and operational risk. Firms should
also consider changes to portfolio con-
centration levels, reputational impact,
and the effect on the availability of li-
quidity sources.
Observations of the
FSA Paper
Rules and guidance on stress and sce-
nario testing will be tightened and clar-
ified. The main aspects are:
• A ‘reverse stress test’ will be intro-
duced. This is designed to consider
scenarios most likely to cause banks’
business models to become unvi-
able.
• Firms have been too optimistic in
assessing the severity and impacts
of adverse scenarios. In too many
cases, this has been a simple desktop
exercise designed to meet a regula-
tory requirement, which has osten-
sibly shown that existing capital lev-
els were adequate.
• Capital planning generally has been
poor. There needs to be a more rigor-
ous assessment of material risks and
mitigating management actions.
• Firms will be expected to review
their stress and scenario testing ar-
rangements immediately, and they
should expect supervisors to chal-
lenge them.
• Group risk will become a core Pillar
2 risk, which must be considered in
the context of the ICAAP.
The key new elements are the reverse
stress test and inclusion of group risk.
Under reverse stress testing firms
will be required to identify and assess
the scenarios most likely to cause their
current business plan to become unvi-
able. The firm’s plan should be consid-
ered to have reached this stage at the
point where materialising risks cause
the market to lose confidence in it. Re-
cent experience suggests that this may
be reached well before regulatory capi-
tal is exhausted. An underlying objec-
tive is to try to ensure that a firm may
continue long enough to either restruc-
ture its business, or allow a more or-
derly wind-down or transfer. Recently
there have been cases where there has
been insufficient time for measured
courses of action to be followed.
• This requirement is intended to be
holistic, so firms should consider li-
quidity risks as well as risks to their
capital positions.
• The likelihood or remoteness of
such risks arising in practice should
be assessed.
• Firms are already expected to project
their capital resources over three to
five years and to estimate the finan-
cial resources needed to survive the
impact of a cyclical downturn. Such
a downturn may address a firm’s
predominant risks where the ma-
jority of its business is composed of
non-trading book activities. Howev-
er, firms are additionally expected to
hold capital to withstand specified
yield curve shifts where they are ex-
posed to banking book interest rate
risk, and more sudden, severe mar-
ket events that may be particularly
pertinent to trading book risks.
• Senior management must be effec-
tively engaged in the process, the
outputs of which should assist in
the formulation of business strategy,
risk tolerances, capital and liquidity
planning, risk mitigation strategies
and contingency planning.
• Reverse stress testing will need to
be documented, and signed off by
the Board. It may be reviewed by
supervisors alongside the ICAAP as
part of the Supervisory Review and
Evaluation Process (SREP).
Deficiencies were evident across the
Contagion takes
into account the
transmission
of shocks from
individual exposures
or portfolios across
a financial services
group as a whole and
potentially across the
financial system
market, although it is fair to say that
the extreme nature of what has oc-
curred was probably not anticipated by
anybody. The Institute of International
Finance (IIF) has also made recommen-
dations for stress testing which the FSA
has supported. There is willingness on
the part of all stakeholders to address
the shortcomings and to start the long
and arduous task of starting to restore
confidence to a system whose credibility
has been shattered.
Simon Baker is deputy head of consul-
tancy at Quadrant Risk Management
(International) where he is actively en-
gaged in governance, risk and compli-
ance consulting. Credit: gtnews.com
APRIL 2009 35
MARKETS
PROPERTY
Concern at
banks’ asset
quality
From a popular growth theme, Gulf markets turn to illiquid
trade in a matter of weeks
T
he Gulf markets are very
cheap, but the asset quality
of banks, particularly in the
UAE, is a cause of concern,
despite government support to the fi-
nancial sector through fiscal stimulus
packages, Merrill Lynch has said in a
report on the prospects for Frontier
Markets, which groups many of the
Middle East and the GCC markets.
Frontier markets were an outper-
forming, uncorrelated asset until the
credit crunch went global with the
bankruptcy of Lehman. Asset price
correlations thereafter soared and vi-
cious contagion caused an increasingly
popular, secular growth theme to be-
come a lonely and illiquid trade. East-
ern Europe was hit by a credit crunch
while the Middle East was badly affect-
36 APRIL 2009
ed by the collapse in oil prices.
According to Merrill Lynch, be-
tween 2000 and 2008, the Frontier
market index had a low 32 per cent cor-
relation with the S&P 500, compared
with 78 per cent or Emerging Markets
(EM) and 86 per cent for Developed
Markets. But between January 2000
and August 2008, annualized returns
from Frontier Markets were 19 per cent
versus 8 per cent from Emerging Mar-
kets as the perceived risks from Fron-
tier markets were falling thanks to pol-
icy improvements – external debt as a
share of GDP fell in almost all regions.
But the collapse of Lehman Broth-
ers caused a banking crisis, the onset
of a global recession and a massive
deleveraging of investor positions in
every secular growth theme. So, Fron-
tier went from being an increasingly
popular growth theme to a lonely and
illiquid trade in a matter of weeks. Cor-
relations with the S&P 500 spiked from
a 32 per cent o a very high 90 per cent,
in line with EM and DM, Merrill Lynch
points out.
Simultaneously the two key drivers
of the asset class, bull markets in com-
modities and risk collapsed, causing
emerging markets to depreciate and
levels of CDS to soar. Frontier Markets
plunged, with countries that had relied
on foreign borrowings for growth par-
ticular hard hit, the report notes.
Merrill Lynch feels that the Frontier
markets, which were the last to go into
the de-leveraging vortex, are unlikely
to be first out. “In other words, secular
bulls on the asset class will need to be

patient”.
Global investors in 2009 are ex-
tremely concerned with liquidity and
the potential for capital controls or
other protectionist measures to com-
mit fresh capital to relatively illiquid
Frontier markets. Outflows from Fron-
tier markets such as the Middle East
have moderated in recent weeks. But
for the Frontier bear market to come to
an early end, two cyclical catalysts are
needed, the report suggests. And these
are higher oil prices, preferably in ex-
cess of $60 per barrel, and a recovery in
global risk appetite.
But the asset management company
feels that neither is immediately likely.
And recoveries in both are unlikely to
be dramatic without a successful infla-
tionary solution to the broken balance
sheets of the G7 economies. Merrill
Lynch forecasts higher oil prices in
2010 but global bank stocks are not sug-
gestive of global re-leveraging anytime
Between January 2000
and August 2008,
annualized returns
from Frontier Markets
were 19 per cent
versus 8 per cent from
Emerging Markets as
the perceived risks
from Frontier markets
were falling thanks to
policy improvements
soon.
According to the report, Qatar is
Merrill’s top pick in the Gulf on a rela-
tive basis as the country is expected to
post a 5 per cent GDP growth in ’09,
the strongest in the region according
to analysts. CDS spreads are the lowest
among GCC ex Saudi countries.
Merrill equity analysts say one big
unpredictable catalyst is the possible
inclusion of Saudi Arabia, by far and
away the largest regional market, in the
MSCI Frontier index. At 9.6x earnings
Saudi Arabia is the most expensive
market in the Gulf, but the growth po-
tential is huge, analysts point out.
The analysts are extremely cautious
on Eastern Europe as high external
debt burdens make credit markets a
key equity driver in coming months.
“IMF-led bailouts to Latvia, Serbia,
Ukraine, Romania and Serbia may act
as a floor to stock prices. But for an end
to the bear market we need to see CDS
spreads decline sharply and verify im-
provements in banks’ balance sheets,”
they point out.
At the same time, the analysts argue
that although the secular argument for
Frontier has been wounded by global
recession, it is not fatal. The asset class
remains undercapitalized, under-
owned with strong growth potential.
The report points out that poor
countries tend to grow faster than rich
ones. GDP per capita in frontier mar-
kets averages $4,000 versus $6,000 in
EM and $40,000 in DM. Strong urban-
ization trends, particularly in Africa
and Asia, should support the secular
growth theme in FM, it suggests.
Emerging Markets have had 13 bear
markets in the past 20 years, yet the as-
set class still grew from 1 per cent to
10 per cent of global market cap. Today
Frontier markets represent less than 1
per cent of world market capitalization
and, as a share of their own GDP, have
plenty of room to catch up with the
norms of both developed and emerg-
ing markets.
The analysts suggest that Frontier
investors must have long horizons
and high risk tolerance. The key risks
remain poor corporate transparency;
challenging trading and settlement,
poor liquidity and dependency on
commodity export revenue.
The frontier markets index is likely
to get two additions: Pakistan and
Argentina as the two are being de-
classified from the emerging markets
index. Pakistan’s downgrade is due to
the fact that while Karachi Stock Ex-
change has returned to normal trading
conditions, the index no longer meets
the size requirements set for the MSCI
Emerging Markets index, while in the
case of Argentina, it is in view of the
continued restrictions to inflows and
outflows of capital in the Argentinean
equity market.
APRIL 2009 37
ECONOMY
PROPERTY
MENA countries
better off
World Bank update forecasts rapid deterioration in financial and
economic conditions world over
C
ountries in the Middle East
and North African region
are comparatively among
the least affected by the glo-
bal economic crisis so far, according to
a World Bank update of its projections
for the Global Economic Prospects re-
port.
Growth for 2009 drops just 0.3
points from earlier projections to 3.3
per cent, but the shift from MENA’s
strong 2008 performance is more
pronounced, the review points out.
Reduced oil revenues and cuts in oil
output will restrain GDP among oil
exporters to 2.9 per cent from 4.5 per
cent in 2008; while recession in the EU,
reduced tourism arrivals and remit-
tance flows are likely to yield an easing
in growth among non-oil economies to
3.6 per cent in 2009 from 6.5 per cent in
the preceding year.
38 APRIL 2009
East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) is
likely to be most affected by the fal-
loff in global investment and trade,
crimping industrial production and
fostering declines in capital spending.
Investment stood at 36.3 per cent of
GDP in 2008, contrasted with 26.5 per
cent for developing countries exclud-
ing EAP, and contraction in capital
outlays is likely to carry proportion-
ately larger effects on regional growth.
Regional exports shift from gains of 15
and 10 per cent in 2007 and 2008 re-
spectively, to decline of 1 per cent in
2009. Against this background, GDP
eases to 5.3 per cent in 2009, as growth
in China slumps to 6.5 per cent, and
several ASEAN members, including
Thailand fall to recession.
South Asia (SAR) has been marked
down to 3.7 per cent growth for 2009
from 5.4 per cent anticipated earlier—
and down from 5.6 per cent registered
in 2008. Though terms of trade have
moved in favour of the region with
the falloff in oil prices, weakening de-
mand in export markets (including
burgeoning Indo-Sino trade) is being
felt sharply, as is a tempering of services
exports from India’s high-tech cent-
ers, as capital spending wanes globally.
Remittances are anticipated to ease as
conditions in host countries falter, al-
beit with some lag. Capital inflows have
diminished, contributing to falloff in
investment growth, notably in India.
Fiscal support for slowing economies
may face constraints in already quite
high budget deficits.
The review points out that what
began six months ago with a massive
de-leveraging in financial markets has
turned into one of the sharpest global
economic contractions in modern his-
tory. As investors repatriated over-
seas assets and credit conditions were
tightened, firms around the world had
to scale-back production and postpone
capital spending plans. Faced with un-
precedented loss of wealth and rapidly
weakening labor markets, consumers
reined-in spending, especially for du-
rable goods.
This update reflects the rapid de-
terioration in financial and economic
conditions—and the increasingly neg-
ative interaction between weakening
economies and fragile financial sys-
tems—that have come to the fore since
late 2008 for virtually every country in
the world.
• Global GDP is expected to contract
by 1.7 per cent in 2009, which would
be the first decline in world output
on record. This marks as substantial
2.6 point deterioration from earlier
GEP forecasts.
• High-income countries are in deep
recession this year, with OECD
economies likely to contract 3 per
cent and other high-income coun-
tries 2 per cent.
• GDP among developing economies
should ease from an advance of 5.8
in 2008 to 2.1 per cent (contrasted
with earlier projections for 4.4
percent growth). Two developing
regions, Europe and Central Asia,
and Latin America and the Carib-
bean will witness GDP decline in
the year.
• Volumes of world trade in goods
and services are expected to drop
6.1 per cent in 2009, with a signifi-
cantly sharper contraction in trade
volumes of manufactured prod-
ucts.
• Oil prices are expected to remain
more-than 50 per cent below 2008
levels, averaging $47 per barrel for
the year, while the decline in non-
oil commodity prices is forecast to
remain in excess of 30 per cent.
The report points out that the global
character of the recession has carried
a dramatic impact on economic per-
formance among high-income coun-
tries. Until mid-2008 the slowing of
OECD domestic demand was partially
offset by continued strong growth in
exports of capital- and higher-tech
products, supplying the investment
that underpinned fast growth in the
developing countries. Conditions have
now reversed, as the collapse of high-
income exports is reinforcing con-
traction in domestic demand in high-
income countries. The tight global
links between trade in manufactured
products and the capital expenditures
needed to support economic activity
have now transformed into a vicious
circle.
Economies specialized in capital
goods production—among them Ja-
pan, Germany, Taiwan, China, and
the United States—have been most
adversely affected by the downturn in
investment spending. The declines are
especially dramatic in Asia. For exam-
ple, the volume of goods exports from
Japan had in January declined 40 per
cent from a year earlier. The size of the
contraction in Taiwan, China was 30
per cent and in Singapore 25 per cent.
The fall in industrial production was of
What began six months ago with a massive
de-leveraging in financial markets has turned into
one of the sharpest global economic contractions
in modern history
similar magnitude in those countries.
Consistent with that picture, GDP in
Japan dropped 12.1 per cent at an an-
nualized rate in the fourth quarter of
2008, at 21 per cent in Korea and 25 per
cent in Taiwan, China.
The Japanese economy is now ex-
pected to shrink 5.3 per cent (a mark-
down of 5.2 points since November),
roughly twice the contraction in Eu-
rope and the United States. GDP in
all high-income countries together is
anticipated to decline 2.9 per cent in
2009—a step-down from GEP projec-
tions of 2.8 percentage points.
The deceleration in economic growth
in low-and middle income countries as
a group is expected to match the decel-
eration in high-income countries. The
developing world is anticipated to see
growth fall from 5.8 per cent in 2008
to 2.1 in 2009, a drop of 3.7 percentage
points, similar to the falloff in high-in-
come economies. This highly synchro-
nous growth collapse cannot be solely
explained by trade linkages, but illus-
trates also that developing countries
have been directly hit in their domes-
tic economies by the financial crisis.
The reversal of capital flows, collapse
in stock markets, and in general the
deterioration in financing conditions
have brought investment growth in the
developing countries to a halt, and in
many developing countries investment
is sharply declining.
The report says that the present re-
cession is spreading pervasive effects
throughout the global economy that
go well beyond substantial declines in
GDP, production and trade. Commod-
ity prices have halved, triggering sizable
shifts in terms of trade and current ac-
count positions, while rapidly lowering
domestic inflation across the world. Fis-
cal pressures are mounting swiftly, even
for governments that enjoyed budget
surplus at the start of the crisis. And
large financing gaps on balance of pay-
ments are emerging for a large number
of countries, which are increasingly
likely to require large-scale support
from official sources to prevent harsh
market-driven corrections.
The commodity price boom that
began in 2003 came to an end in July
APRIL 2009 39
2008. Apart from strong demand, a
number of factors drove prices higher,
including a weak dollar, low pre-boom
investment in extractive industries,
supply disruptions, biofuel mandates,
investment fund activity, and govern-
ment policies such as export taxes and
bans on several food commodities.
Many of these factors reversed at mid-
year 2008, as the incipient slowdown in
economic activity and fallout from the
financial crisis induced massive price
declines across all commodity sectors.
By December 2008, crude oil prices
dropped to $41per barrel —down near-
ly 70 per cent from July peaks—while
non-energy prices fell nearly 40 per
cent. Demand for most commodities
slowed or declined—including import
demand in China—particularly for oil
and metals. Against this background,
current projections call for crude oil to
average near $47/bbl in 2009, some $27
per barrel below earlier expectations,
with non-oil commodities falling 32
per cent. As most of these declines have
already been realized for the year, the
remainder of 2009 should be charac-
terized by little overall change in price
levels, though volatility is apt to remain
elevated. As demand is not expected
to recover meaningfully until 2010 or
thereafter, prices should remain low in
part due to idle capacity that could be
reactivated in the case of metals and
oil, and spare agriculture capacity.
CPI inflation across the G-7 coun-
tries as well as developing economies
is slated to slow substantially into
2009-10, with the former easing to 0.4
per cent from 2.9 per cent in 2008 as
commodity prices retrench and weak
demand and continued rise in unem-
ployment keep price pressures at bay.
Central bank fears of deflation will
likely be offset by continued additions
of liquidity to economies though stim-
ulus programs and financial support
measures. For developing countries,
the median personal consumption de-
flator is viewed to fall from 8.5 per cent
in 2007-08 to 5 per cent by 2010. Even
40 APRIL 2009
if prices temporarily fall in some devel-
oping countries, the risk of widespread
deflation is still small, as the fall in
commodity prices is expected to be a
one-time event, and core inflation was
till recently on an upward trend, in re-
sponse to the surge in food prices dur-
ing 2008. Moreover, many countries
may experience further weakening of
their currencies, which would curb
disinflationary pressures.
All developing countries now face
the prospect of substantial deteriora-
tion in fiscal balances, as tax revenues
fall (a good proportion related to in-
ternational trade and the collapse in
the manufacturing sectors), borrow-
ing costs skyrocket and transfers to
maintain social safety nets burgeon.
Stimulus packages and other measures
to mitigate mounting stress in the pri-
vate sector are bound to lead to further
deterioration in fiscal positions in the
coming years. The most substantial
widening in fiscal shortfall is expect-
ed in developing Europe and Central
Asia, where contraction in trade and
production is severe, the private sector
is highly vulnerable, and social safety
nets have broad coverage.
External financing requirements
for developing countries as a group are
anticipated to increase to $1.3 trillion
in 2009, comprised of current account
deficits ($330 billion) and principal re-
payments on private debt coming due
($970 billion). With a decline in capital
flows to developing countries under-
way, this would generate an estimated
financing gap of between $270-$700
billion, depending on the size of roll-
over risks and the magnitude of capital
flight. Regions with the largest fund-
ing gaps are Europe and Central Asia,
Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Af-
rica. In the current projections, 84 of
109 developing countries would face fi-
nancing gaps, in most cases too large to
cover by drawing down reserves alone.
This suggests that in the absence of suf-
ficient international support, countries
could be forced into generating a sharp
The present recession
is spreading pervasive
effects throughout the
global economy that go
well beyond substantial
declines in GDP,
production and trade
reversal in current account balance,
implying further decline in domestic
demand and imports.
The report refers to the debates re-
garding the possible ‘shape’ of recovery
from the current downturn continue,
but says there is little question that the
outlook for 2010 in particular, is sur-
rounded by extreme uncertainty across
a wide array of policy- and other vari-
ables that will eventually bring about a
revival in economic activity. The pro-
nounced cycle in worldwide investment
could have sufficient dynamic to carry
global growth back to positive terri-
tory by 2010, as the pace of decline in
investment moderates, and postponed
demand for durable consumer goods
begins to catch up. Together with the
effects of monetary and fiscal stimulus
this results in the modest global recov-
ery in the baseline forecast presented
here.
However, continued banking prob-
lems or even new waves of tension in
financial markets could lead to stagna-
tion in global GDP or even to another
year of decline in 2010. In all cases, the
estimated output gap would increase in
2010 because (in the baseline as well),
growth falls well short of potential. This
implies that unemployment and fiscal
deficits will increase further into 2010,
in high-income and developing coun-
tries alike, while disinflationary condi-
tions could persist well into the year.

The $2.5 trillion
repair job
By Jeff Applegate and Charles Reinhard
Moments after US Treasury Secre-
tary Timothy Geithner unveiled the
Obama administration’s much-antici-
pated. Financial Stability Plan (FSP) on
Feb. 10, the stock market began sink-
ing. Curiously enough, the credit mar-
kets barely budged—a sign, perhaps,
that the fixed income players were
willing to give the $2.5 trillion plan a
chance.
In our view, the FSP has the fea-
tures needed to get bank lending and
securitized markets functioning in a
more normal fashion. Now Geithner
needs to put it to work, which is what
we—and the markets, somewhat more
tentatively— expect to see in the weeks
ahead.
ST RESS TEST: The first element of
the FSP is a comprehensive regulatory
stress test for major banks. The aims
of this test are to make sure the banks
could still lend even if they suffer fur-
ther losses and to recapitalize banks
INTERNATIONAL
Geithner’s plan to
fix the financial
system is a good
one; now he needs
to execute
that fall short.
The exam looks at a bank under
worsening economic conditions—a 3.3
per cent contraction in GDP in 2009,
an average 10.3 per cent unemployment
rate in 2010 and another 25 per cent de-
cline in home prices.
After the review, banks needing
more capital will be encouraged to seek
private sources. Still, the US Treasury,
Federal Reserve and other agencies are
committed to making sure banks have
APRIL 2009 41
the capital and liquidity necessary to We think the TALF will work, too. While the FSP may fall short of what
make credit available. This should also mean the Federal Re- ultimately will be required, in our view
A vital aspect of the first piece of the serve’s balance sheet, which had recent- it is an innovative initiative. Combined
FSP is that the government will provide ly dropped back below $2 trillion as with the $787 billion stimulus package
a temporary capital buffer to recapital- some of its commercial paper holdings signed by President Obama on Feb. 17
ize banks that need it and take convert- matured, will rise again—potentially to and the $275 billion Homeowner Af-
ible preferred shares in exchange. The $3 trillion—as the TALF ramps up. fordability and Stability Plan intro-
budget released Feb. 26 includes $750
billion for the financial rescue plan as The plan calls for using $100 billion of Troubled
needed to be carried on the books as
a $250 billion loss. What if the banks Asset Relief Program funds, and then leveraging
need more? That will depend on the
extent of further losses, which the next
them by a factor of 10. In essence, this is a
part of the further extension of the Fed’s credit easing, as the
FSP, the Public-Private Investment
Fund, is designed to address.
central bank will now become a market maker in
This investment fund, which is to securitized credit card, auto, student, commercial
acquire bad assets from banks, is cru-
cial. The government will lend money and residential loans
to private investors such as hedge funds
to buy these assets, thereby letting the
market set the price. The difference
between that price and whatever val-
ues banks are carrying on their books
would have to be absorbed as addition-
al bank losses. Since the private-sector
cost of borrowing will be low and the
loan is nonrecourse, demand for these
assets could be quite robust; by exten-
sion, potential bank write-downs and
additional recapitalization needs will
be commensurately lower.
LEVE RAGING UP: The third part of
the FSP is the expansion, up to $1 tril-
lion, of the Federal Reserve’s previously
announced Term Asset-Backed Secu-
rities Loan Facility (TALF). The plan
calls for using $100 billion of Troubled
Asset Relief Program funds, and then
leveraging them by a factor of 10. In es-
sence, this is a further extension of the
Fed’s credit easing, as the central bank
will now become a market maker in
securitized credit card, auto, student,
commercial and residential loans. The
Fed’s initial foray into credit easing in
the commercial paper market last au-
tumn succeeded in getting that mar-
ket working again with lower absolute
yields and spreads. The subsequent ven-
ture into the mortgage market achieved
positive results as well.

42 APRIL 2009
duced by the president on Feb. 18, the American auto companies in those recoveries usually take place in a fa-
FSP is another element that should nations just as the US has been. So, vourable liquidity environment—and
lead to a recovery in economic growth while protectionism remains a risk to that liquidity is in place. Moreover,
in the second half of 2009. This recov- markets, it is a fairly low-level threat, while the credit markets have not re-
ery should be anticipated first in US given the globalization of labor and turned to normal, they are moving in
and global equity markets. Moreover, capital extant today. that direction—and borrowing costs
this steady flow of initiatives from the ROUND TRIP: US and global equi- are low.
Obama White House confirms our view ties have round-tripped back to their REAL YIELD: The US equity market
that this administration will be much November lows, as consensus earn- also looks promising in terms of real
more activist than its predecessor. ings estimates and valuation reflect yield, or the yield on risk-free Treas-
BEYOND THE US: Developed-country the deeper recession. US and global ury bonds less the inflation rate. In the
central banks, such as those in the UK,
Japan and Canada, are moving toward
a Fed-type ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate
Policy) or deploying credit easing to
keep local credit markets functioning.
Unfortunately, the European Cen-
tral Bank hasn’t been aggressive enough
on rates, though we expect that it will
move closer to ZIRP this summer. De-
veloping-country central banks, such
as those of China and Brazil, continue
to reduce interest rates—albeit from
much higher levels—to stimulate their
local economies.
Finally, global fiscal policy stimulus
is at work, too. Including the US, our
economists estimate fiscal stimulus will
be more than 5 per cent of global GDP
across 2009 and 2010.
As long as an adequate global policy
As adequate global policy response is forthcoming,
response is forthcoming, the US and the US and global financial markets and economy
global financial markets and economy
should complete its bottoming process. should complete its bottoming process
Almost across the board, that policy
mix seems appropriate, in our view.
However, there remain concerns expected earnings for 2009 are now 1950 through 2008 period, any time
over the risk of protectionism. The $64 and $17, respectively, versus $87 real yields were below 3 per cent, as
‘Buy American’ provision in the US and $24 in November, while forward they are now, stocks were up an average
fiscal stimulus package is one example; price/earnings ratios are 12 and 11, re- of 13.5 per cent in the next 12 months.
fortunately, it was mostly gutted after spectively, versus nine and eight previ- That is significantly greater than the
the White House opposed it. ously. 5.1 per cent afforded to Treasury bonds
PROTE CTIONIST RISKS: In some Historically, prospective equity re- or 3.1 per cent to cash in the same en-
circles, it’s considered ‘financial pro- turns have depended quite a bit on the vironment. That history is yet another
tectionism’ when global banks reduce characteristics defining the starting reason for investors to stay resolute
lending or sell assets outside their point. Currently, P/E ratios are below through these difficult times.
markets. In our view, such actions their long-term historical averages.
are more a corporate response to the Earnings are also below trend. As
downturn. Similarly, we disagree that a result, equities would stand to ben- Jeff Applegate is Chief Investment Offic-
backing US automakers is ‘industrial efit if markets move toward more-nor- er and Charles Reinhard Senior Invest-
protectionism’Canada and Germany, malized valuations in the months and ment Strategist with Citi Global Wealth
for example, have been supportive of quarters ahead. In addition, market Management

APRIL 2009 43
TECHNOLOGY
PROPERTY
TrendMicro report says underground economy flourishing in financial meltdown
C
riminals are using more so-
phisticated techniques than
ever before to steal and sell
victims’ personal informa-
tion including email logins, credit card
numbers, social security numbers, ac-
count passwords, PIN numbers, and
gaming passwords, the TrendMicro
Annual Threat Report has concluded.
Trend Micro says researchers ob-
served the continuation of a pattern
established in 2007 in which cyber-
criminals employ an increasingly pro-
fessional approach toward creating
schemes and using malware to make a
profit in the ‘Underground Economy’.
Unlike the suffering, real world econ-
omy, the Underground Economy con-
tinues to thrive and prosper, the report
points out.
Stolen information is big business
for today’s cybercriminals. Prices vary
based on type of data, time of year sold,
valuation of currency, account balanc-
44 APRIL 2009
Cyber
criminals
getting
more
innovative
es, credit limits, and other complicated to be a hotspot for cyber crime. Russian
criteria. According to a recent article in malware is bought and sold for as much
the Chicago Tribune, some estimate the as $15,000 and rogue Russian Internet
global cyber-crime business to be gen- service providers charge $1,000 a month
erating $100 billion-a-year in profits. for bulletproof server access.
Motivation is simple—online crime According to a recent article in The
pays. For example, the average salary Independent, off-the shelf malware is
for a Russian professional is approxi- sold for $50 to $3,500, depending upon
mately $640 per month yet cyber-crime its sophistication, its ability to target vic-
gangs are offering computer program- tims, the kind of information it steals,
ming graduates from Moscow’s techni- and how well it evades security software.
cal universities up to $5,000 to $7,000 a Criminals can even subscribe to a serv-
month. As in the past, Russia continues ice to monitor antivirus developments
The average salary for a Russian professional
is approximately $640 per month yet cyber-
crime gangs are offering computer programming
graduates from Moscow’s technical universities
up to $5,000 to $7,000 a month
and tweak malware accordingly for
$25 to $60 per month, or can purchase
a ‘premium service’ to avoid detection.
Additionally, the article reports that a
basic list of unqualified email addresses
costs about 1/10th of a cent per address,
while botnet services cost about $10 for
a million emails. Botnets can also be
rented and used for spamming, hack-
ing, and denial of service attacks. An
hour of usage on a network of 8,000 to
10,000 computers costs approximately
$200.
Credit card details are the most
common item bought and sold in the
underground. Criminals either use the
numbers on their own to exploit victims
or sell the numbers on a black market
online forum for two to five per cent
of their remaining balances. For exam-
ple, if the average card on the list had
remaining credit of $1,000, each set of
details would be worth approximately
$25.
Geography also influences crimi-
nal booty. For example in Asia, online just like any real-world software devel- templates that exactly replicate the ap-
gaming passwords are all-the-rage and opment firm. In addition, cyber crooks pearance of popular banking web sites.
command top dollar. When the Inter- employ a small army of work-at-home In March, a slew of phishing kits were
net Explorer zero-day vulnerability was employees who receive payment for ac- discovered built to target top Web 2.0
identified in December, Chinese hack- cepting funds from Western Union, for sites for social networking, video shar-
ers used the security hole to steal login example, or for receiving then resending ing, free email service providers, banks,
credentials to online gaming platforms shipments of stolen goods—essentially and popular e-commerce sites.
and then sell them online for profit. In money-laundering operations. FBI offi- Many of the kits originated from ‘Mr
addition, virtual gaming is so popular cials are reportedly tracking the correla- Brain’—a group of Moroccan fraudsters
in China that people have actually been tion between rising unemployment and who launched a dedicated web site that
murdered for their virtual goods. In an increase in web-related schemes that advertises free, easy-to-use phishing
Eastern Europe, hackers use the same promise large paychecks for a few hours kits. Mr Brain kits have been used to
vulnerabilities for different purposes— of work per week from home. target several well-known banks and
usually to steal online banking logins Fake mortgage refinance schemes other organizations, including Bank of
and credit card information. PayPal and are also being used to bilk money from America, Chase, eBay, HSBC, PayPal,
eBay accounts are also being bought and already hard-hit homeowners. The Wachovia, Western Union, and many
traded online. Criminals locate users spam campaigns promise a better mort- others.
with high reputation ratings then steal gage rate if recipients send money for an The underground economy will con-
their login data and leverage victims’ appraisal then the criminal makes off tinue to prosper as long as cybercrimi-
high ratings to scam consumers. with the fake appraisal fee. One of the nals develop increasingly sophisticated
The methods employed to make reasons for the growing prevalence and malware tools and as long as consum-
money in the underground are growing profit of cyber crime is the ease with ers and businesses lack the proper pro-
more sophisticated, actually mimick- which criminals can launch operations. tections. According to the 2008 breach
ing the real world. An entire industry Free tools abound to create a vari- report from Identity Theft Resource
of malware software programmers ex- ety of nasty web threats—from free, Center, 35 million data records were
ists, for example, who sell code online pre-made phishing kits to free spam compromised last year in 656 admitted

APRIL 2009 45
incidents, compared to the 446 data loss saw a huge increase in spam that em-
cases reported in 2007. ployed social engineering techniques.
Computer malware, hacking, and In January and February, for example,
insider theft made up 29.6 per cent of several targeted attacks occurred using
overall recorded breaches, while data Trojanized Microsoft Word files em-
losses due to human error accounted for bedded with malicious code. The files
35.2 per cent. Businesses and consum- (in reality, Trojan downloaders) were
ers alike will continue to suffer from sent as attachments with related spam
data leaks, financial losses, identity that supported the Tibetan govern-
theft, and damaged reputations in 2009, ment in exile. The file names were lifted
creating a security environment that is from actual press releases and news
ripe for change. headlines, such as ‘Free Tibet Olym-
As cybercriminals employ increas- pics Protest on Mount Everest.doc’ and
ingly complex and distributed methods ‘CHINA’S OLYMPIC TORCH OUT OF
of attack, defense methods require a TIBET 1.doc.’ The technique is familiar,
wider security net. Understanding the dredging up memories of WORM_NU-
inner workings of single pieces of new WAR and leveraging headline-grabbing
malware code is insufficient for creat- events to facilitate propagation.
ing adequate protection. Just as criti- In the middle of the year and to-
cal is solving the puzzle of interactions ward the end, .ZIP files were spam-
among the malicious piece-parts of ma- mers’ malicious attachments of choice,
licious spam, compromised web sites, used to evade text-based spam filtering
and downloaded malware files. technologies. Examples included bo-
The evolution of threats from mere gus UPS and FedEx email notifications
files transferred through floppy disks to containing a tracking number (to make
the sophisticated, blended web threats the message appear authentic) with a
of today poses a unique challenge for message body informing recipients of
the content security industry. New a package delivery problem and a mes-
threats are now composed of multi- sage urging the recipient to print the at-
ple components, some of which may tached ‘invoice’ to claim the ‘package’.
be non-malicious on their own. These The attachment was the same file type
threats are hard to detect since they re- as those seen in previous spam runs.
quire catching the malicious aspects of The .ZIP file contained an information-
each and every component, TrendMi- stealer detected by Trend Micro as
cro points out. TSPY_ZBOT.MCS. ZBOT spyware—
While malicious spam attachments infamous keyloggers known to steal
have been infecting users for years, 2008 confidential information, such as those
When the Internet Explorer
zero-day vulnerability was
identified in December,
Chinese hackers used
the security hole to steal
login credentials to online
gaming platforms and then
sell them online for profit
46 APRIL 2009
related to online banking credentials.
The increase in malicious attach-
ments may be attributed to the ease
they provide cybercriminals in altering
tactics, such as attachments that lever-
age social engineering tactics and the
ease with which payloads are delivered
in the form of vulnerabilities that can be
exploited. A a huge spike in malicious
attachments occurred in September and
October 2008.
Spam
Spam has consistently risen over the
years and the US continues to be the
‘most spammed’country, receiving 22.5
per cent of all spam, while Europe is
the most spammed continent. China’s
percentages have been increasing lately,
showing 7.7 per cent of spam volume in
2008, compared to Russia at 5.23 per-
cent, then Brazil, the Republic of Ko-
rea, and others. Spam is predominantly
written in English—at 93 per cent of all
spam tracked by TrendLabs. The next
highest spam language is Russian at 3
percent and after that, several languages
attribute1 percent to spam, including
Japanese, German, Chinese, and others.
Although still the spam leader in
volume, English is slowly decreasing as
a percentage of overall spam. Spam was
in the news in April when ‘backscatter
spam’ reinvented itself. ‘Backscatter’ is a
term coined to refer to the intended ef-
fect of sending spam using forged sender
addresses.
Spammers who send email messages
with different sender names in the From
field are in fact counting on certain types
of mail transfer agent (MTA) programs
that return the entire text or message to
the forged sender (as in Message Send-
ing Failure messages or bounced email
notifications) instead of truncating the
messages. MTAs that are configured like
this inadvertently cause a spam run, be-
cause they “send back” message to users
who did not send these messages in the
first place. Similar to malware attacks
that reuse old exploits, this recycled
technique is as effective today as when it

first appeared, as long as the conditions
that allow it persist.
Another spam trend is the increas-
ing use of malicious URLs embedded in
spam to snag victims. Over 30 per cent
of domains named in spam were reg-
istered in the past 60 days— implying
their shady nature—with 10.8 per cent
registered in the five days prior.
In November, a group of security
researchers blew the whistle on San
Jose-based McColo Corporation—one
of the world’s most disreputable hosting
providers and one of the world’s largest
sources of spam. With suspected links to
the Russian Business Network (RBN) in
St. Petersburg, McColo was believed to
have hosted some of the command and
control (C&C) infrastructure for several
of the world’s largest identified botnets,
including Srizbi, Rustock, Mega-D, and
Cutwail. These botnets were controlling
hundreds of thousands of zombie PCs
involved in email spam, spamvertising,
malware, child porn, credit card theft,
fraud, and get-rich-quick scams.
As a ‘bulletproof’hosting provider,
McColo was known to be unresponsive
to complaints about its hosted sites, col-
lecting a premium from criminal opera-
tors for turning a blind eye when noti-
fied of infractions. McColo was finally
disconnected from the Internet after
years of investigation culminated in a
complete shutdown, eliminating an un-
believable 50 to 75 per cent of the world’s
junk email in a single day. Unfortunate-
ly, the spam reprieve was temporary and
spam counts are again inching back up.
In particular, Srizbi—one of the largest
known botnets with links to McColo—
appears to be regaining strength. The
McColo shutdown indicates that bot-
nets have been and will continue to be
the biggest spam producers. Continued
vigilance within the security, law en-
forcement, and business communities
will be critical in spam control in the
years ahead.
In 2008, phishers became even more
adept at using social engineering tech-
niques to fool victims into falling for
phishing schemes. In addition to target-
ing financial institutions and banks, a
new twist on phishing was discovered in
November involving a fake McDonald’s
Member Satisfaction Survey that prom-
ised a $75 credit for completing the sur-
vey. After completion, users were asked
for full name, email address, credit card
number, and electronic signature.
Bogus surveys related to Wal-Mart,
American Airlines, and U.S. President-
Elect Barack Obama were used in sev-
eral phishing attacks this year to collect
personal information from potential
victims. The surveys usually promise
some form of reward to participants,
clearly demonstrating that cybercrimi-
nals are leveraging users’ increasing
need to save money this past year.
With the increase in malware has
come a dramatic rise in Internet crime.
According to a study by the Organiza-
tion for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) into online crime
released last summer, an estimated one-
in-four US computers is infected with
malware.2 In addition to the stagger-
ing number, many threat types have
morphed into targeted, combined at-
tacks, rendering sample collection al-
most impossible.
Unlike the old days when hackers
created viruses to be mischievous and to
“show they could,” modern-day malware
authors create threats primarily to make
a profit. As the Underground Economy
has grown and flourished into a multi-
billion dollar industry, cybercriminals
have developed new methods for trick-
ing PC users.
In 2008, a series of mass compromis-
es showcased the dangerous potential of
today’s criminals to launch wide-scale
attacks that affect a range of innocent-
looking sites. Gone are the days when
users could simply refuse to open at-
tachments from unknown senders to
avoid infection. The majority of today’s
infections arrive via the web—hiding on
legitimate-looking web pages, lurking
behind convincing warnings for fake
antivirus software, hidden under fake
digital certificates that once indicated
sites were safe.
Dramatic and daring exploits were
revealed in 2008, such as DNS changing
malware that exploits a recently revealed
vulnerability that can literally route any
machine to any other site. The zeroday
bug found in Microsoft Internet Explor-
er in December was similarly shocking
in its scope. The identified vulnerability
affects almost all versions of Internet Ex-
plorer and Microsoft security research-
ers estimated that as many as one in 500
APRIL 2009 47
Internet Explorer users could have been
exposed to malware attempting to ex-
ploit the flaw.
Ransomware also made a splash in
2008, with a Trojan that encrypts files,
making them inaccessible without an
encryption key. Experts predict more
ransomware in the future, capitalizing
on small to medium-sized businesses
that lack the IT resources to combat
such threats, particularly in a down
economy.
In 2008, removable, physical drives
became a popular threat vector, espe-
cially in Asia. Autorun malware, which
infect removable drives, was also on
the rise last year. In addition, a rash of
incidents involving infected USB sticks
are causing companies throughout the
world to create new, more stringent pol-
icies about the kinds of devices allowed
to access the corporate network. Not
all threats were new last year, however.
The Master Boot Record (MBR) rootkit
made a spectacular comeback, with new
technology that helps prevent detection.
Another oldie— backscatter spam—al-
so reappeared as a recycled threat that
became newly effective in 2008.
Predictions for 2009 call for more
of the same threats that plagued both
home users and businesses in 2008,
with new events and occurrences in the
New Year that will shape the social en-
gineering techniques that make today’s
spam so believable.
In an effort to help customers pre-
pare for the newest threats, Trend Micro
provides the following Annual Threat
Roundup and Forecast to showcase the
malware that made headlines in 2008
and to deliver predictions for 2009.
Knowledge of the threat landscape is
the most important layer of defense—
both for home and business networks.
This report serves as a roadmap for all
users to better understand both new
and existing threats with helpful tips
to protect against tomorrow’s new mal-
ware attacks.
For security-minded IT network
managers and individual computer us-
48 APRIL 2009
ers alike, the digital threat landscape
is undergoing radical change. Simply
stated, the sheer volume of new threats
is overwhelming traditional protection
methods. At the same time, the source
or direction from which threats attack
computers is predominantly via the In-
ternet. By the end of 2008, less than 10
percent of all malicious attacks arrived
by threat vectors other than the web.
Meanwhile, the perpetrators of dig-
ital threats have become increasingly
well organized. The underlying crimes
carried out by digital threats are part
of larger mass criminal enterprises that
rely on quiet, continued operation on a
huge scale. Gone are the days when the
threat landscape was defined by the oc-
currences of high impact, single event
outbreaks.
Not only are the individual crimes
associated with digital threats part of
larger criminal operations, an increas-
ing fraction of digital threats them-
selves are merely piece-parts in com-
posite threat mechanisms that utilize
several stealth techniques together to
overcome threat protection.
Historically, cybercriminals have
continued to advance their malware
development skills, and the security
industry has responded with new tech-
Businesses and consumers alike are expected
to continue to suffer from data leaks,
financial losses, identity theft, and damaged
reputations in 2009, creating a security
environment that is ripe for change
nologies to combat threats. Most re-
cently, however, cybercriminals have
exploited an inherent weakness in the
traditional approach to protection. As
content security companies discover
new threats and develop countermeas-
ures, this newly acquired threat knowl-
edge must be deployed to all protected
computers and networks. Even if the
threat discovery process could keep
up with the increasing volume of new
threats, eventually it becomes logisti-
cally overwhelming to deploy updated
protection throughout the world.
Conventional malware protection
involves gathering samples of malware,
developing pattern file fixes, and then
quickly distributing these pattern files
to protect users. Because many Web
threats are targeted, combined attacks,
collecting samples is becoming almost
impossible. Also, the huge and growing
number of variants uses multiple deliv-
ery vehicles (i.e., spam, instant messag-
ing, and websites), rendering standard
sample collection, pattern creation, and
deployment insufficient. Traditional
virus detection processes are also chal-
lenged by a fundamental difference be-
tween viruses and evolving web threats.
Viruses were originally designed to
spread as quickly
as possible and were therefore easy
to spot. With the advent of web threats,
malware has evolved from an outbreak
model to stealthy ‘sleeper’infections that
are more difficult to detect using con-
ventional protection techniques.
Cybercriminals realize they can over-
whelm content protection efforts with
the sheer volume of new threats. The
volume of new threats is easily increased
because of variants—i.e., the same Tro-
jan can change hourly or daily in an
attempt to fool security scanners. This
means that millions of unique malware
can, in fact, represent variants of the
same piece of malware. Cybercriminals
are also fully aware of the difficulty in
issuing updates, and they use this fact to
their advantage, creating new malware
en masse and as quickly as possible.
 ABN AMRO Bank Corniche
Ghassan Kandalaft Manager 02 6275111
Head Office: The Netherlands Mussafah
Dubai Branch, Regional Hub for UAE and Middle East Tel: 04 3512200 Firas Al Eid Manager 02 5544272
P.O.Box: 2567, Khalid bin Waleed Street, Dubai, UAE. Fax: 04 3511555 Baniyas Town Manager
Non-stop banking service: 04 3080000 (Toll free) Hamad Salem Rashid Al Junaibi Manager 02 5821550
Ruwais
Dubai Branch: Mohammad Ismail Manager 02 8775015
Colin Macdonald Country Executive 04 5062601 Zayed Town
Burhan Khan Head of Consumer Banking 04 5062801 Dhababa Rashed Obaid Al Mansouri Manager 02 8846180
Hassan EI Nahas Head of Private Clients 04 5062301 Gayathi
Vishnu Deuskar Head of Global Market 04 5062551 Haraba Al Mazroui Manager 02 8742155
Padmanabh Mishra Head Commercial Client Coverage 04 5062701 Al Baya
Abu Dhabi Tel: 02 6963000 Ottakath C Mohamed Kutty Manager 02 8721300
Corner of Hamdan and Salam Streets Fax: 02 6963001 Al Ghuaifat Pay Office
P.O. Box: 2720, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Ottakath C Mohamed Kutty Manager 02 8723499
Al Ain Main Branch
Sharjah Tel: 06 5594900 Mohd. Al Darmaki Manager 03 7543413
Abdul Aziz Al Majid Building, King Faisal Street Fax: 06 5591009 Al Ain Khalifa Street
P.O. Box: 1971, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Salim Al Darmaki 03 7511322
Sinaeyah (Indust. Area)
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Salem Ahmed Manager 03 7210064
Al Wagan
Head Office: Abu Dhabi Mall Nayla Al Ameri Manager 03 7352100
P.O. Box 939, Abu Dhabi Tel: 02 6962144 Fax: 02 6450384 Al Yahar
Khamis Sulum Abdun Khamis Manager 03 7815600
Branches Al Hayer
Al Salam Khalid Omar Eissa Manager 03 7322557
Omar S. Al Tamimi Manager 02 6962486, 02 6666311 Riggah
Khalidiya 02 6669910 Mudhi Al Haj Manager 04 2956969
Al Bayah Karama
Khaled Al Mannaei Manager 02 8721300 Omran Abbas Taimour Manager 04 4055135
Al Dhafra Mina
Yaqoob Al Dosari (Edgar Ruaya / GM in charge) 02 5851030 Hosam Al Refay Manager 04 3984444
Al Muroor Naif
Ramzi Al Rimawi Manager 02 4444216 Ms. Seema Mohd. Malk Manager 04 6024110
Al Shahama Al Ettihad
Hazim Al Suwadi Manager 02 5633424 Salem Ali Khammas Jammahi Manager 04 3615151 ext. (202)
GHQ Al Qusais
Essam Husain Al Habshi Manager 02 4415626 Fahd. M. Baroudi Manager Manager 04 2634244
Tourist Club Area Sharjah Main
Hadia Dalloul Manager 02 6725178 Ms. Wissam Moaded Manager 06 5737737
Hamdan Farah Al Ulama Manager 06 5566169
Abdalla Al Jaberi Manager 02 6335820 Abdulla Al Shamsi Manager 06 5433300
Sh. Rashed Road Abdullah Fayez Al Shamsi Manager 06 5432006
Mohamed Al Dosari Manager 02 6213237 Ajman

APRIL 2009 49
 Dubai
Yasmeen Alabid       Manager 06 7442111 Al Twar 04 2611116
RAK Ibrahim Alqasser Manager
Aisha Ahmed Ghareib      Manager 07 2335500 Opposite Deira City Center 04 3973333
Fujairah Hashim Al Zarooni Manager
MohdAli Hassan Mohd Al Bloushi Manager 09 2224324 Shk. Zayed Rd.
 Dibba Mohamed Hussein Zainal Manager 04 4033400
Rania Yousef Manager 09-2446700
Contact Centre Fujairah
Ahmed Abdo Manager 800-2030 Fujairah 09 2222711
Fahad Al Shaer Manager
Eissa Al Suwaidi Chairman Dibba 02 6100920
Eirvin Knox CEO Ali Mohammed Manager
Ala’a Eraiqat Deputy Chief Executive Officer Ras Al Khaimah 07 2284448
Thirry Bardury Head Operations & IT Saif Hamdan Alkeem Manager
Deepak Khullar Chief Financial Officer Sharjah 06 5075100
Seumas Gallacher Head - Investment Banking Ali Essa Alshaqoosh Manager
Zaki Hamadani Head - legal & Special Assets
Sultan Al Mahmoud Head - Human Resources Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait - Dubai
Abdirizak Ali Head - Internal Audit
Alok Kakar Head - Corporate Finance Division Head Office: Kuwait
Robert Price Head - Credit Regional Head Office: Dubai Tel 04 2681118
Walter Pompliano Head - Financial Institution & Intl. Division Opposite Hamarain Centre, Deira Fax 04 2684445
Howard Gaunt Head - Business Banking P.O.Box 1719, Dubai, E-mail: infodubai@ahlibank.ae
Jasim Al Darmaki Head - Government Relations Website: www.ahlibank.ae
Arup Mukhopadhyay Head - Retail Banking Management & Senior Personnel:
Ahmed Barakat Head - Wealth Management Vikram Pradhan General Manager, UAE
Yaser Mansour Head - Corporate Communications, Vijay Shah Head of Trade Finance & Operations
Director of Chairman’s Executive Office & Hiranand Motwani Manager Treasury
Senior Vice President Krishna Kumar Manager Retail Operations
Simon Copleston General Counsel & Board Secretary
American Express Bank Ltd
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
Representative Office, Suite 509 Tel: 04 3975000; Fax: 04 3976986
Head Office: Abu Dhabi The Business Centre, Khalid Bin Al Waleed Street, Bur Dubai
Najda Street, P.O. Box 313, Abu Dhabi UAE Tel 02 6343000 P.O. Box 3304, Dubai.
Email: customerservice@adib.ae Fax 02 6342222 Prabir A. Biswas Director & Chief Representative
Website : www.e-adib.com Sumit.K.Roy Director-financial institution group
John A. Smetanka Head-wealth management-subcontinent and
Established on 20th May 1997 as a Public Joint Stock Company through the global NRI
Amiri Decree No. 9 of 1997. The bank commenced commercial operations on 11th
November 1998, and was formally inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Abdulla Bin
Zayed Ak Nahyan, UAE Minister of Information and Culture on 18th April 1999. All
Arab African International Bank
contracts, operations and transactions are carried out in accordance with Islamic
Head Office: Cairo, Egypt.
Shari’a principles.
Regional Head Office Dubai Tel: 04 3937773

ART Tower, Al Mina Street, Opp. Ports & Customs Bldg., Bur Dubai
Branches
P.O. Box 1049, Dubai Fax: 04 3937774
Abu Dhabi Main 02 6168118 Swift ARAIAEAD, E-mail: aaibdxb@emirates.net.ae
Aref Ismail Al Khouri Manager Web: www.aaib.com
Mushref 02 4455177 History: Established 1964 as the first Arab joint venture bank
Ezzeldin Nagdy Manager Hemant Jethwani General Manager UAE
Madinat Zayed 02 6100821 Dubai Branch: Key Executive
Mohamed Yousef Manager Alaa Sobhy Head of syndication and assert trade
Khalidiya Ladies Abu Dhabi Tel: 02 6323400; Fax: 02-6216009
Abu Baker Omar Manager Arab Monetary Fund Bldg, Corniche Street, P.O. Box 928, Abu Dhabi
Sheikha Al Suwaidi Manager Key Executive
Khalifa Street 02 6100590 Hani Hassan Branch Manager
Omar Aqel Manager
Al Ain Arab Bank
Sinaiya 03 7211777
Omar M. Basheer Manager Head Office Jordan – Amman Tel: 04 2950845; Fax: 04 2024369
Clock Tower Branch 03 7076444 P.O.Box 950544, 950545
Ali Abdullah Al Manager Amman 11195
Dhaheri Website: www.arabbank.ae
Al Jimi Mall Branch 03 7633500 History: The Arab Bank Group is one of the principal financial institutions in the
Ahmed Abdullah Manager Arab world and ranks among the leading international banks in terms of equity,
Al Boloshi earnings and assets. Established in 1930 in Jerusalem. The Arab Bank Group is

50 APRIL 2009
owned by about 4,000 shareholders from all over the world, mainly Arab countires.
The Group has a diversified network of over 350 branches worldwide.
Abdul Majeed Shoman Chairman
Abdel Hamid Shoman Deputy Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
U.A.E Area Management
Mohammad A . Azab Senior Vice President - Dubai
Saed Jarallah Senior Vice President – Abu Dhabi
Aladin Al-Khatib Treasury Head
Hatem Kurdieh Corporate Banking Head
Tareq HajHasan Retail Banking Head
Mohammad Mattar Central Operations Unit Manager
Hani Hirzallah Regional Manager Human Resources /Gulf Region
Tareq Ibrahim Head of Human Resources
Ammar Al Khayyat Financial Controllar
Ghassan Nimer IT Center Regional Manager
Jihad Ghoury Legal Counsel
Sanjay Malhotra Global Head of Marketing & Product Develeopment
Nasser Maghtheh Senior Auditor
Anan Al Khatib Premises & Pruchasing Officer (Engineer)
Suleiman Malhas U.A.E Branches Audit Centre Manager
Dubai Al Ittihad Street 04 2950845
Mohammed Azab Branch Manager Fatima Al Muani Manager 06 5747766
Deira 04 2221231
Mohammed Elayyan Branch Manager
Abu Dhabi Al Naser Street 02 6392225
Nasser Serries Branch Manager
Al Ain 03 7641328
Colock Tower roundabout, Al Ain Street
Maen Jarrar Branch Manager
Sharjah Al Arooba Street 06 5618999
Maher Al Debis Branch Manager
Ajman 06 7422431
Rashid Bin Humaid Street
Modhar Kherfan Branch Manager
Ras Al Khaimah 07 2288437
Oman Street, Al Nakheel
Ali Zatar Branch Manager
Fujairah Sheik Zayed Street 09 2222050
Abdel Hamid Qamhieyah Branch Manager Abu Dhabi Branch Tel: 02 6323400
Call Centre Within UAE 800 40 43
Outside UAE 009714 2953889
Arab Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade
Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6721900
Regional Head Office, Sh. Hamdan Street, Tourist Club Area Fax 02 6785271
P.O. Box 46733, Abu Dhabi Dubai Tel 04 2284655
Telex 22455 ARBIFT EM
Email: arbiftho@emirates.net.ae
Website: www.arbift.com
History: Established in 1976 in Abu Dhabi Registered as a Puvlic Joint Stock
Company
Management & Personnel
Ibrahim N. R. Lootah General Manager 02 6952286
Hassan S. Kishko Head of Finance 02 6721299
M.A. Majid Siddiqui Head of HR & Admin 02 6728785
Khalid Mohammed Bin Amir Head of Operations 02 6776109
Najib Taleb Nasser Head of Commercial Banking PO Box 5803, Al Buheira Tower, Al Buheira Corniche Tel 06 5736100
Ahmed Majid Lootah Head of Retail Banking 02 6743801
M. Santosh Babu Senior Manager IT 02 6722975
Izzeldin Al Siddiq Salem Mgr - Inspection & Internal Audit 02 6780592
Osman Hamid Suliman Mgr - Banking Relations Dept 02 6787380
Mir Asif Ali Mgr - Treasury Dept 02 6721600
Saidi Zoubir Head of Business Dev. Dept. 02 6723763
Tareq S’adi Al Darras Mgr - Credit Risk Management 02 6720886
Issam Abugisseisa Legal Advisor 02-6791642
Abu Dhabi Main, Sh. Hamdan Street 02 6721900
Noora Ebrahim Manager -Sales & Services 02 6780423
Souk Branch 02 6269500
Al Masaood Building - Khalifa Street, Abu Dhabi
Nasser Rashed Al Ali Manager 02 6275087
Al Ain 03 7655133
Mohd. Sultan Al-Darmaki Bldg., 1st Floor, Old Passport Office Road.
Hussain Marzouqul Manager 03 7656482
Dubai 04 2220151
Arbift Tower, Baniyas Street, Deira
Adel Mohd. Khalfan Manager 04 2282071
Al Bagh
Sharjah King Faisal Street 06 5744888
Arab Banking Corporation
Abu Dhabi Office 02 6447666
Office, 10th Floor, Abu Dhabi Trade Centre, Abu Dhabi Mall
P.O.Box 6689, Abu Dhabi Fax 02 6444429
Mohamed El Calamawy Chief Representative
Arab Emirates Investment Bank PJSC
Head Office: Cairo Egypt Tel: 04 3937773
Regional Office: Dubai Fax: 04 3937774
ART Tower, Al Mina Road, Opposite Maritime City, Bur Dubai
P.O Box 1049 Dubai
SWIFT: ARAIAEAD
E-mail: aaibdxb@eim.ae
Web: www.aaib.com
Management-UAE
Hemant Jethwani General Manager
Alaa Sobhy Head of Syndication and Asset Trade
Mahendran Raman Head of Operations and Liabilities
Fax: 02 6216009
Arab Monetary Fund Bldg., Corniche
P.O Box 928, Abu Dhabi
BLOM Bank France SA
Al Maktoum Street, Deira Dubai, P.O. Box 4370 Fax 04 2236260
email: info@blomfrance.ae
www: www.blombank.ae
Bassem Ariss Regional Manager 04 2222355
Samir Hobeika Branch Manager 04 2214648
Michel Germanof Manager Corporate Credit UAE 04 2242067
Mohammad M Ansari Treasurer 04 2224812
Sharjah
Fax 06 5736080
Mokhtar Kassem Branch Manager
APRIL 2009 51

Bank Muscat
Dubai Representative Office Mr. Saravana kumar
Dubai Creek Tower, Baniyas Road, Deira Tel 04 2222267
P.O. Box 29969, Dubai Fax 04 2210115
Lawrence P. Monteiro Chief Representative
BBK BSC
Dubai-Representative Office 04 2210560
Dubai Creek Tower Office 18A, Baniyas Road, Deira
PO Box 31115 Tel 04 2210560 / 70
Fax 04 2210260
Website www.bbkonline.com
History: Established on 16th March, 1971
Murad Ali Murad Chairman
Karim Bucheery CEO & GM
Sh. Rashed Al Khalifa Deputy General Manager
Dubai ReP-Office: CK Jaidev D. Guha Senior Manager (Operations) 06 5686232
Head of Representative Office
Rajiv Kapoor Relationship Manager & Loan Syndications Wafa
Al-Alwan Relationship Manager & Loan Syndications Representative office Tel 02 6263008
Bank of Baroda
Dubai
Zonal Office: Sheikh Rashid Bldg.
Ali Bin Abu Talib Street, Bur Dubai,
P.O.Box 3162, Dubai Tel: 04 3531628
E-mail: cc.gcc@bankofbaroda-uae.ae Fax: 04 3530839
UAE Website: www.bankofbarodauae.ae
History: Established in 1908, July 20
Nationalized on July 19, 1969
Senior Management & Personnel – Baroda Corporate Centre, Mumbai, India.
Dr. A.K. Khandelwal Chairman & Managing Director
Mr. V. Santhanavanam Executive Director
Mr. S.C. Gupta Executive Director
Zonal Office, Dubai:
Ashok K. Gupta Chief Executive,
(GCC operations) 04 3538093
L.J. Asthana Senior Manager (Credit) 04 3531628
J.K.Jais Senior Manager (Inspection) 04 3531628
P.M. Bondarde Senior Manager (Credit) 04 3531628
Sujeet Bhale Senior Manager (Syndication) 04 3531628
Rajesh Jain Senior Manager (Internal Auditor) 04 3531517
Abu Dhabi:
Al Halami Centre, Sheikh Hamdan Street 02 6330244/ 6322000
K. Venkateshwarlu Chief Manager 02 6344302
K.Shridhar Senior Manager (Credit)
R.G. Shanker Senior Manager (Operations)
Al Ain:
Clock Tower, Round about, Planning Street 03 7519880
Sarabjeet Singh Senior Branch Manager 03 7659554
Vijay Kumar Goel Senior Manager (Operations)
Dubai: Sheikh Rashid Bldg.Ali Bin Abu Talib Street,
52 APRIL 2009
Bur Dubai, 04 3531955
Vinod Malhotra Asst. General Manager 04 3534516
Shekhar Tripathi Senior Manager (Operations) 04 3530166
M.K. Patel Senior Manager (Credit) 04 3534080
Beena Desai Manager (India Desk) 04 3537586
Retail banking Shoppe, Dubai
04 3534390
Mr Ketan Dave 04 3540041
Mr Vinay Rathi 04 3540340
Deira
Kuwaiti Bldg., Al Rigga, Baniyas Street, Deira 042287949
Rajiv K. Garg Chief Manager 04 2286516
Yuvraj Singh Senior Manager (Operations) 04 2286216
P.K. Gambhir Senior Manager (Credit) 04 2292181
R.K. Madaan Manager 04 2292181
Ras Al Khaimah:
Al Qasimi Bldg, Oman Street, Al Nakheel 07 2229293
P.K.Bhargav Senior Branch Manager 07 2229293
Sharjah
Al Mina Road 06 5684231/ 5686232
M.S. Chouhan Asst. General Manager 06 5683273
D. Pathania Senior Manager (Credit) 06 5684231
Bank of New York
Suite 402, The Blue Tower, Sh. Khalifa Bin Zayed Street Fax 02 6263308
P.O.Box 727, Abu Dhabi
Hani Kablawi Managing Director
Bank of Sharjah
Sharjah
Head Office – Al Hosn Avenue Tel 06 5694411
P.O. Box 1394, Sharjah Fax 06 5694422
E-mail: bankshj@emirates.net.ae
History: Established on 22nd December 1973 with Banque Paribas, Paris
Ahmed Abdulla Al Noman Chairman
Varouj Nerguizian General Manager
Mario Tohme Deputy General Manager
Fadi Ghosn Deputy General Manager
Ali Burheimah Commercial Manager
Mohammed Asghar Senior Operations Manager
Fares Saade Senior Manager
Michel Germanos Risk Manager
Jayakumar Menon Finance Manager
Berj Tossounian Credit Manager - Sharjah
Wahide Assaad    IT Manager
Jihad Aoun    Investment Manager
Samer Hamed    Audit & Control Manager
Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6795555
Al Mina Street, P.O.Box 27391 Fax 02 6795843
Ramzi Saba Senior Manager
Mazen El Attar Operations Manager- Abu Dhab
Anni Barsoum Credit Manager - Abu Dhabi
Dubai Tel 04 2827278
Al Gharoud Street, PO Box 27141 Fax 04 2827270
Nadim Melki Senior Manager
Toufic Youakim Credit Manager - Dubai
Fadi Haddad Operations Manager - Dubai
Al Ain 03 7517171
Khalifa Street, PO Box 84287 Fax 03 75170770
George Dib Branch Manager
Rida Higazi Deputy Branch Manager

Bank Saderat Iran
Dubai Tel 04-6035555
Regional Office, Al Maktoum Street, P.O. Box 4182 Fax 04 2229951
Dr.Hamid Borhani                 Regional Manager
Abdul Reza Shabahangi         Assistant Regional Manager
Mohammad Yousefi Peyhani       Assistant Regional Manager
Majid Tavasoli                            H.R. & Organization Dept. Manager
Gholamreza Joulaie               Credit Facility Dept. Manager
Rahim Erfan Moghaddam        Account Dept. Manager
Mehran Arzhang                        Letter of Credit Dept. Manager                Al Maidan Tower, Al Maktoum St. Tel 04 2222291
Majid Mirnasiri                          Recovery Dept. Manager
Hamdi Reza Khalajzadeh         Dealing Dept. Manager
Hojatollah Malek Mohammadi    IT Dept. Manager
Mansoor Sedaghat Motlagh        Service Dept. Manager
 Mohsen Hossein Hosseinpour   Manager of Al Maktoum Branch
Gholamreza Ebadi Fard          Manager of Murshid Bazar
Branch
Saeed Mirzaian Tafti         Manager of Sheikh Zayed Rd. Branch
Ferdos Zolfagharian            Manager of Bur Dubai Branch
Seifollah Farzan Mehr      Manager of Sharjah Branch
Jalil Vosooghi                            Manager of Ajman  Branch
Ali Abasteh                       Manager of Abu Dhabi Branch
Peyman Sabri                 Manager of Al Ain Branch
Banque Du Caire
Abu Dhabi Regional Head Office (02) 6225880
P.O. Box 533, Abu Dhabi Telefax 02-6225881
History: Established on 8th May, 1952 On July 1, 1960 the Amman Branch became
independent under the title of Cairo Amman Bank. In July, 1961 the Bank was na-
tionalized. On November 2, 1962 the Lebanese branches were absorbed by Banque
Misr-Liban S.A.L On October 1, 1979 fo3rmer branches in Saudi Arabia have been
saudized and a new bank was formed under the name of Saudi Cairo Bank.
Mohamed kamal Al Deen Barakat Chairman                   
 Ahmad Sherif Rehab Regional Manager   BNP Paribas
Abu Dhabi - UAE PO Box 533 Tel:        02-6272525
Abu Dhabi Branch  Mohamad Kamal Farid (Acting Manager) Tel:         02-6273000
Dubai Branch    Labib Abdul Ghaffar Tel:         04-2715175
Sharjah Branch      Tareq Hafez Tel:         06-5739379
Ras Al Khaima      Mohamad Abdul Ghani (Acting Manager) Tel:         07-2332245
Al Ain                          Abdul Hamid  Saeed Tel:         03-7511104
Barclays Bank PLC
Dubai Tel: 04 3626888
Emaar Business Park, Building No. 4, Sheikh Zayed Road Fax: 04 3663133
P.O. Box: 1891, Dubai
Website www.barclays.com
Saleem Sheikh Regional Managing Director, Middle East & North
Africa
Mark Petchell Group Country Managing Director
Amin Habib Director - Corporate Banking
Faizen Mitha Regional Treasurer
Farrukh Zain Head of Trade Sales
Florence Goodman Head of Corporate Afffairs & Public Relations
David Inglesfield Location Manager - International & Premier Bank-
ing
Callum Watts-Reham Director, Market Manager, Gulf - Barclays Private
Clients
Barclays Capital
Dubai International Financial Centre, Level 9,
West Wing, The Gate Building, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai
Nicholas Hegarthy Managing Director, Head of Middle East & North
Africa
BLC Bank (France) S.A.
Head Office
17-19 Avenue Montaigne Tel 33 1 56 52 11 00
75008 Paris, France Fax 33 1 56 52 11 11
Mr. Andre Tyan General Manager
Regional Office Dubai
P.O. Box 4207, Dubai Fax 04 2283935
E-mail: blcdxbrm@emirates.net.ae
Melhem Dagher Administration & Operations Manager
Dubai
Al Maidan Tower, Al Maktoum St. Tel 04 2222291
P.O. Box 4207, Dubai Fax 04 2279861
Hamze Abdul Sater Branch Manager
Abu Dhabi
Mohd. Joan Al Badi Bldg., Hamdan St. Tel 02 6220055
P.O. Box 3771 Fax 02 6222055
Ghassan Haddad Acting Regional Manager
Samir Rached Acting Branch Manager
Sharjah
Al Salam Bldg., Al Mina St. Tel 06 5724561
P.O. Box 854 Fax 06 5727843
Victor Khoriaty Branch Manager
Ras-Al-Khaimah
Sheikh Ahmad Bin Saker Al Quasimi Bldg., Al Montaser St. Tel 07 2286222
P.O. Box 771 Fax 07 2275067
Abd El Hajj Branch Manager
Abd Ahmad Al Hajj Branch Manager
Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6130400
Khalifa Street, P.O. Box, 2742, Abu Dhabi Fax 02 6268638
Marc Checri General Manager
Central Bank of the U.A.E
Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6652220/6915555
Head Office, Al Bateen Area, Bainoona Street Fax 02 6668483/6668621
P.O.Box: 854, Abu Dhabi, www.cbuae.gov.ae
E-mail: sultan_rashid@cbuae.gov.ae
Swift: CBAU AE AA
Reuters dealing code: CBEM
History Established in 1980 as a central bank of the United Arab Emirates by a
federal
decree. Central bank took over the activity of the United Arab Emirates currency
board
which was established in 1973.
Management & Personnel
H.E. Sultan Bin Nasser Al-Suwaidi Governor
H.E. Mohd. Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi Deputy Governor
Board of Directors
H.E. Mohd. Eid M. Jasim Al-Meraikhi Chairman
H.E. Jumaa Al-Majid Vice Chairman
APRIL 2009 53

H.E. Sultan Bin Nasser Al-Suwaidi Governor
Members
Ali Al-Sayed Abdulla, Jamal Nasser Lootah,
Khalifa Nasser Bin Huwaileel, Saeed Rashid Al Yateem Al Muhairy
Executive Directors
Saeed Abdulla Al Hamiz Executive Director-Banking Supervision & Exami-
nation Dept.
Rashid Mohamed Al Fandi Executive Director - Banking Operations Dept.
Saif Hadef Al Shamesi Executive Director - Treasury Department
Salem Ahmed Al-Hammadi Executive Director - Research & Statistics Department
Abdulla Hamad Al-Zaabi Executive Director - Internal Audit Department
Jamal Ebrahim Al Mutawaa Executive Director - Administration Department
Economic Advisors
Abed Alla Osama Malki, Mohammed Zeitouni Bechri
Portfolio Managers
Mohammed Abdulla Mohammed, Brian Gardner
Anti-Money Laundering & Suspicious Cases Unit
Abdul Rahim Mohamed Al Awadi Asst. Executive Director
General Secretariat & Legal Affairs Division
Salem Said Al Kubaisi Senior Manager
Financial Control Department
Hassan Ibrahim Al Hamar Senior Manager
Personnel Division
Ali Ghurair Al Romaithi Senior Manager
Correspondent Banking Division
Sultan Rashed Al-Sakeb Senior Manager
Public Relations Division
Abdul Raheem Abdullah Manager
Information Technology Division/ UAE Switch Division
Khalifa Al Dhaheri Senior Manager
Dubai Tel: 04 3939777
P.O. Box 448 Fax: 04 3937802
Omar Al Qaizi Manager-in-Charge
Sharjah Tel: 06 5592592
Old Airport Road, Opp. Immigration Bldg., P.O. Box 645, Sharjah Fax: 06 5593977
Zakaria Abdul Aziz Al Suwaidi Senior Manager
Ras Al Khaimah Tel: 07 2284444
Al Nakheel, Oman Street, P.O. Box 5000 Fax: 07 2284646
Salem Jasem Al Baker Asst. Executive Director
Fujairah Tel: 09 2224040
P.O. Box 768, Fujairah Fax: 09 2226805
Ali Mubarak Saeed Abbad Senior Manager Zainab Nour Aldin Employee Relations Manager 04 2126 442
Al Ain Tel: 03 656656
Ali Ibn Abee Taleb Street, Oud Al Touba Fax: 03 664777
P.O. Box 1414
Ajlan Ahmed Al Qubaisi Asst. Executive Director Faris Saddi Chief information Officer 04 2060700
Citibank N.A (UAE Branches)
Date of Establishment 1964
Nationality USA
Legal Status Mohammed Ishaq RAK  Branch Manager (AL Manar Mall) 07 2274777
54 APRIL 2009
Commercial Banking Services (F)
Regional Head Office Oud Metha Towers
P.O Box 749, Dubai – UAE
Tel: 04- 3245000
Telex: 023 6738736
Cable: CITIBAEM
Swift: CITIAEAD
Reuters: N/A
Email: karim.seifeddine@citi.com
Website: www.citibank.ae
Auditors: KPMG
Domestic Branches:
Al Wasl Road Branch (Main Branch) Tel: 04 3245000
Oud Metha Road, P.O Box 749
Dubai Branch (Next to Burjuman) Tel:
Abu Dhabi Branch Tel: 02 6982206
Al Salam Street, Next to Lulu Center Fax: 02 6726381
P.O Box 999, Abu Dhabi
Sharjah Branch Tel: 06 5072101
Beside Sharjah Emigration, Fax: 06 5723378
Opposite Civil Court. Sharjah
Al Ain Branch Tel: 03 7641090
Sh. Zayed Street Fax: 03 7663887
Broad of Directors: N/A
General Management:
Mohammed E. Al- Shroogi, MD for the Middle East and Chief Executive Officer, UAE
Sanjoy Sen, Country Business Manager Global Consumer Group - U.A.E
Mohammed Azab, Chief Officer, UAE Offices, Citi Private Bank
Clearstream Banking
Dubai Tel 04 3310644
City Tower 2, Sheikh Zayed Road Fax 04 3316973
Website: www.clearstream.com
Robert Tabet Vice President Middle East & North Africa
Commercial Bank International
Dubai Tel 04 2275265
Head Office
Dubai  Al Riqqa Street Deira , P.O  Box 4449                       Tel : 04  2275265  
Website : www.cbiuae.com Fax : 04 2279038
 
Hamad Al Mutawaa Chairman  
H.E. Humaid Al Qatami Deputy Chairman  
Abdulla Rashid Omran Managing Director and Board Member 04  2242104
Mohammed Saadeh Head of GBG 04 2126500
Abdulla Amer Jasem Head of HR & Admin 04 2126466
Hesham Abdulla Head of Branches & Services 04 6020615
Ahmed Mustafa Tahoun Head of Internal Audit &
compliance Division 04  2126603
Ramanthan Murgappan Senior Manpower planning &
Recruitment Manager 04 2126444
Yousef Haddad Planning & Development Manager 04 2126190
Bashir Haji Mohd Chief Dealer 04 2126214
A.D.Abooty Head Of Operations & Finance 04 2126291
K.E Mammoo Accounts Manager 04 2126215
Yousef Al Marshoudi Dubai Branch Manager 04-2275265
Tariq Selaij Bur Dubai Manager 04-3559577
Ameena Bin Kaali Sheikh Zayed Branch Manager 04 3405555
Ahmed Al Junaibi Abu Dhabi Branch Manager 02-6913111
Abdulla Ali Almadhani Al Ain Branch Manager 03 7669994
Ahmed Darwish RAK  Branch Manager (Nakhel Branch) 07 2227555

Alyia Al Mulla Sharjah Branch Manager 06 512100 Mr. Abdul Wahed Al Rostamani Director
Ahmed Bin Masood Mr. Abdul Rehman Saif Al Ghurair Director
Fujairah Branch Manager 09 2011777 Mr. Saeed Mohd Al Mulla Director
Dubai Main Branch (Al Riqqa Street)
Yousef Al Marshaudi Branch manager 04 2126101
Bur Dubai
Tariq Sulaij Branch manager 04 3555511
Sheikh Zayed Road
Ameena Mhd. Bin Kaadi Branch manager 04 3405555
Abu Dhabi Mr. Ahmed Shaheen General Manager, Credit Group
Ahmed Sulaim Al Junaibi Branch Manager 02 6264400
AL AIN
Abdulla Ali Branch manager 03 7669994
Ras Al Khaimah
Khaled Al Mannai Branch Manager (Manar Mall) 07 2274777
Ahmed Yousef A. Darwish Branch Manager (Nakeel Branch) 07 2227555
Sharjah
Aliya Al Mulla Branch manager 06 5687666
Commercial Bank of Dubai
Main Branch , Al Ittihad Street, Port Saeed, Dubai
Ibrahim Salama Branch Manager 04 212 1000
Dubai Branch, Mankhool Street, Dubai
Amer Al Shamali Branch Manager 04 352 3355
AL Maktoum Branch, Abu Baker Al Siddique Street
Ahmed Al Aboodi Branch Manager 04 268 3555
Deira Branch, Baniyas Street
Mohammad Al-Sayed Al-Hashemi Branch Manager 04 225 3222
Baniyas Square Branch, Al Maktoum Hospital Street
Mohd. Al Lawati Branch Manager 04 228 9000
Jebel Ali Branch, Jebel Ali Free Zone
Mohammed Abdulla Mardood Branch Manager 04 881 8882
Jumeirah Branch, Jumeirah Beach Road
Areffa Al Hashimi Branch Manager 04 344 1438
Sheikh Zayed Road Branch, Ghaya Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road
Maher Marzouqi Branch Manager 04 334 777
Al Garhoud Branch, Al Haj Saleh Bin Lahej Building,
Al Garhoud Street-Deira
Ali Salman Branch Manager 04 282 6444
Al Qusais Branch ,Al Nahda Street
Abdullah Lootah Branch Manager 04 261 5000
Souq Al Wasl Branch, Souq Al Wasl Street
Taher Mohammed Branch Manager 04 227 6111
Al Aweer Branch, Central Fruit and Vegetable Market, Al Aweer
Ibrahim Al Ramsi Branch Manager 04 320 1222
Naturalization and Residence , Administration – Dubai Branch
Adel Abdul Aziz Branch Manager 04 398 5000
Mr. Jamal Saleh Assistant General Manager, Head of Risk Management
Abu Dhabi Branch, Corniche Street
Wael Ahmed Mahfouz Branch Manager 02 626 8400
Musaffah Branch , Al Firdoos Building, Mussaffah Area M/3
Zahir M. Suaiman Branch Manager 02 555 5510
Khalidiya Branch, Khalidiya street
Sultan Ali Al Assiry Branch Manager 02 667 9929
AL Ain Branch, Al Takhtit Street, Clock Tower
Khalid Abdel Hadi Branch Manager 03 766 7800
Sharjah Branch, Immigration Road
Abdul Aziz AL Ansari Branch Manager 06 574 0666
Ajman Branch, Shk.Humaid Abdul Aziz Street
Marwan Ebrahim Mohammed Branch Manager 06 745 6668
Ras Al Khaimah Branch, Al Nakheel Area, Oman Street
Ebrahim Ahmed Al Zaabi Branch Manager 07 228 6266
Fujairah Branch , Al Gurfa Road, Near Al Mibkhar Roundabout
Abdullah Al Suwaidi Branch Manager 09 222 5111
H.E. Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer Chairman
H.E. Saeed Ahmed Ghobash Deputy Chairman
H.E. Saeed Mohd Al Ghandi Deputy Chairman
Mr. Khaled Juma Al Majid Director
Mr. Omar Abdulla Al Futtaim Director
Mr. Peter Baltussen Chief Executive
Mr. Yaqoob Yousuf Hassan Deputy Chief Executive
Mr. Ibrahim Abdulla General Manager, Administration & Finance
Mr. Mahmoud Hadi General Manager, Central Operations
Mr. Faisal Galadari General Manager, Business group
Mr. Abdul Rahim Al Nimer General Manager, Financial Services
Mr. Stephen Davies Deputy General Manager, Corporate Banking
Mr. Moukarram Att asi Deputy General Manager, Asset Management
Mr. Thomas Smith Deputy General Manager, Head of Retail
Mr. John Tuke Deputy General Manager, Treasury & ALM
Mr. V.P Bhatia Assistant General Manager, Treasury
Mr. Masood Azhar Assistant General Manager, SPD
Mr. Amir Afzal Assistant General Manager, IT
Mr. Adel Al Sammak Assistant General Manager, Corporate Banking
Mr. Kanan Iyer Assistant General Manager – Internal Audit
Mr. Clive Harrison Assistant General Manager – HR
Mr. Alan Kerr Assistant General Manager, Corporate Banking
Mr. Alan Hill Assistant General Manager, Treasury &
Investment
Coutts & Co.
Representative Office - Dubai Tel 04 2217007
Twin Towers, Baniyas Street, Deira
Fax 04 2217006
P.O. Box 42220
Sarah Deaves CEO
Sandra Shaw General Manager
Martin Bond Private Banker
Calyon Corporate & Investment Bank
(Previously Crédit Agricole Indosuez & Crédit Lyonnais)
Dubai
World Trade Centre, Level 32                            Tel:      04 3314211
P.O.Box: 9256                                                            Fax:     04 3313201
Website: www.calyon.com
Amr Alkabbani                         Regional Manager – Gulf      04 3317316
Ludovic Bernard-Maissa          Regional COO                                                           
Eric Fromaget                          Head of Private Banking         04 3321300
Sebastian Van der List            Head of Corporate Banking – UAE      04 3315836
Naeem Khan                            Trade Finance          04 3291055
Albert Mondjian                       Head of Investment Banking – MEA    04 4284803
Abu Dhabi
Al Muhairy Centre, Level 5              Tel:      02 6351100
Block C, Sheikh Zayed the First Street          Fax:     02 6344995
P.O.Box: 4725
Ghazi Abdul Fattah                  Branch Manager           02 6351991
Credit Suisse
Abu Dhabi
Dhabi Tower, 4th floor, Sheikh Hamdan Street Tel 02 6275048
P.O.Box 47060 Fax 02 6274109
Jean-Marc Suter Director
Dubai
P.O. Box 33660 04 3620000
APRIL 2009 55
The Gate bldg, 9th Floor Fax 04 3620001 Deira Main Branch 04 2959999
Dubai International Finance Centre ( DIFC), Dubai Al Souk 04 2233300
Head of Regional Office Beat Naegell Sheikh Zayed Rd 04-3437777
Nad Al Shiba 04 3907777
Bur Dubai 04 3971717
Deutsche Bank A G Jumeirah Ladies Branch 04 3429955
Al Barsha 04 3406000
Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6333122 Ajman 06 7466555
P.O.Box 52333 Fax 02 6322044 Sharjah 06 5726444
E-mail: jens.moeller@db.com Wasit Road 06 5584455
Jens Moeller Representative Al Dhaid 06 8826682
Khorfakan 09 2370080
Dubai Abu Dhabi 02 6346600
P.O. Box: 50490 Khalidiah Ladies Branch 02 6677119
Emirates Towers, Level 27b Al Salam 02 6450555
Fax 04 3199560 Bani Yas 02 5825511
Karl French Director Tel : 04 3199514 Al Ain 03 7644111
Private Wealth Management - Asia Al Ain Mall 03 7515155
Nadeem Masud Director Tel : 04 3199524 Ras Al Kheimah 07 2284888
Global Markets Fujairah 09 2221550
Harris Irfan Vice President Tel : 04 3199520
Global Equities & Derivatives
Rohit Johri Vice President Tel : 04 3199522 El Nilein Bank
Private Wealth Management - Asia
Abu Dhabi
P.O.Box 46013 Tel 02 6269995
Dresdner Bank AG Fax 02 6275551
Abdulla Mahmoud Awad Manager Tel 02 6720934
Dubai Representative Office Mohamed Osman Salih Deputy Manager 02 6761916
Burjuman Business Towers, 10th Floor, Office 1011 Murlidhar G. Ramchandani Chief Accountant & Dealer 02-6729300
Bur Dubai, P.O. Box: 25654 Tel 04 3596444 Ahmed Hillali Ahmed Head Investment Dept. & Credit 02-6729300
Fax 04 3596116
E-mail: RepDubai@Dresdner-Bank.com

Bashar A. Barakat Chief Representative Emirates Bank International

Regional Head GCC & Yemen
Dubai
Dubai Bank Main Branch, Baniyas Road, Deira
Tel 04 2256900
Main Office P.O. Box 2923, Dubai Fax 04 2267718
Sheikh Zayed Road, Near Dubai World Trade Centre Tel 04 3328989
P.O. Box 65555, Dubai Fax 04 3290071 Branches
E-mail: info@dubaibank.ae Abu Dhabi 02 6455151
Website: www.dubaibank.ae Hameed Sheikh Manager
Al Ain 03 7510055/77
History: Established in September 2002 Ghanim Al Hajeri Manager
Al Maktoum
Ziad Makkawi Chief Executive Officer Ali Malallah Manager
Al Quoz
Mohd. Abdulla Manager
Dubai Islamic Bank Baniyas Square
Sherif Al Ulama Manager
Head Office Bander Talib
Al Maktoum Street, Dubai Tel 04 2953000 Fareed Aquilli Manager
P.O. Box 1080, Dubai Fax 04 2954111 Dubai Main Branch
Website: www.alislami.co.ae Amal Al Qamzi Manager
History: Established March 12, 1975 Fujairah 09 2222114/110
Dr. Mohammed Khalfan Bin- Yousif Al Marshoudi Manager
Kharbash Chairman Internet City 04 3910840/1
Butti Khalifah Bin Darish Balakrishnan Nair Manager
Al- Falasi CEO Galleria
Saad Mohammed Abdul Razzaq Deputy CEO Farida Al Balooshi Manager
Mohd. Saeed Al Sharif Executive Vice President-Finance IBN Gardens 04 8844689
Arif Ahmed Al Koheji Executive Vice President-Investment Banking Hamdan Mohd. Abdulla Manager
Abdullah Ali Al Hamli Executive Vice President - Business Services Jebel Ali Free Zone 04 8815551
Ahmed Mohammed Fadel Legal Consultant and Board Secretary Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Manager
Karama
Branches Muna Al Falahi Manager

56 APRIL 2009
 IMB (Main Branch) P.O. Box: 6564, Al Gurg Tower 2, Riggat Al Buteen, Dubai.
BUD (Bur Dubai) P.O. Box: 6564, Khalid Bin Walid Road, Dubai.
Karama Shopping Complex DFR (Diyafa) P.O. Box: 6564, Diyafa Road, Dubai.
Nawal Al Khader Manager RIQ (Riqqa) P.O. Box: 6564, Omar Bin Al Khattab Street, Dubai.
Mankhool ADC (Abu Dhabi) P.O. Box: 46077, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dbahi.
Abdul Rahim Abdulla Manager ROS (Ras Al-Khaima) P.O. Box: 5198, 191 Oman Street, Al Nakeel, Ras Al Khaima.
Qiyadah Fuj (Fujairah) P.O. Box: 1472, Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdulla Street, Fujairah.
Fatima Al Midfa Manager AJS (Al Ain) P.O. Box: 15095, Jawazat Street, Al Ain.
Ghusais QFS (Umm Al-Qaiwain) P.O. Box: 315, King Faisal Road, Umm Al Qaiwain.
Fatima Al Midfa Manager SBA (Sharjah) P.O. Box: 5169, Al Arooba Bank Street, Sharjah.
Ramoul
Ibrahim Hassan Manager
Finance House P.J.S.C.
Ras Al Khaimah 07 2272333
Khalifa Bin Kalban Manager
Mr. Mohammed Abdullah Jumaa Al Qubaisi Chairman
Satwa
Mohamed Bilal Manager
Mr. Abdul Hamid Umer Taylor General Manager 02 6194998
Sharjah Industrial Area 06 5345577
Mr. T.K. Raman Chief Operating Officer 02 6194889
Mohamed Al Shouq Manager
Mr. Mohammed Wassim Khayata Executive VP – Strategic Planning 02 6194445
Sharjah 06 5733300
Mr. Ramesh S. Mahalingam Chief Investments & Financial Officer 02 6194601
Mahmoud Saif Manager
Mrs. Shagufta Farid Khan Head of Internal Audit 02 6194223
Souk
Ms. Lina Abdul Hamid I. El Araj Manager – General Services 02 6194702
Samia Al Aqady Manager
Mr. Tarek Soubra Vice President – Central Operations 02 6194362
Umm Suqueim
Nazia Kalban Manager Ms. Maha Al Jamal Senior Manager – Marketing 02 6194893
Tower
Saif Al Mansoori Manager First Gulf Bank
World Trade Centre
Abdulla Sulaij Al Falasi Manager Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6816666
Najdah 02 6771919 Head Office, Sh. Zayed Second Street, Khalidiya
Butti Al Assiri Manager P.O. Box 6316, Abu Dhabi
Website: www.fbg.ae
History: Established in 1979
Emirates Industrial Bank Shareholder Equity of over AED 10 billion
Senior Management
Abu Dhabi - Head Office Tel 02 6339700 Abdulhamid Mohammed Saeed Managing Director 02 6920502
P.O. Box 2722, Abu Dhabi Fax 02 6319191/6326397 Andre’ Sayegh Chief Executive Officer 02 6920506
E-mail: indbank@emirates.net.ae Amit Wanchoo Head of Retail Banking Group
Dubai Tel 04 2211300 Arif Shaikh Chief Credit & Risk Officer
Arbift Tower, Deira P.O. Box 5454, Dubai Fax 04 2232320 George Abraham Head of Corporate Banking
E-mail: eibdubai@emirates.net.ae Gopi Krishna Madhavan Head of Human Resources
Website: www.emiratesindustrialbank.net Hana Al Rostamani Strategic Planning Head
Senior Management Personnel/Branch ManagerMohamed Abdulbaki Mohamed Karim Karoui Head of Business Planning & Financial Control
General Manager Nadeem A. Siddiqui Head of International Business
Ahmed Mohamed Bakhit Khalfan Deputy General Manager Shafiqur Rehman Adhami SR. VP, CB FI\SYN\MNC\OIL & Energy Sector
Abdullah Rashed Omran Dubai Branch Manager Zafar Habib Khan Chief Investment Officer
Khalifa Al Falasi Acting Projects Division Manager Zulfiquar Ali Sulaiman Business Support Director
Ali Ahmed Al Essa Development Services Division Manager
Nasser Haji Malek Administration Manager Habib Bank A.G. Zurich
Essa A. Bu Al Rougha Internal Audit Manager
Mohamed Moneir Makled Finance Manager Head Office: Zurich, Switzerland
Salem Abu Baker Salem Acting Loans Division Manager Zonal Office: Dubai Tel 04 2214535
Baniyas Square Deira, P.O. Box 3306
Fax 04 2284211
E-mail: hbzcad@habibbank.com
Emirates Islamic Bank Website: www.habibbank.com
History: Established in 1967
P.O. Box: 6564, 2nd & 3rd Floor, Al Gurg Tower 1 Tel: 04 3160330
Reza S. Habib Joint President
Plot 372 - Riggat Al Buteen, Deira, Dubai. Fax: 04 2272172
Arif Lakhani Chief Executive Vice President 04 2229985
www.emiratesislamicbank.ae
Asad Habib Senior EVP
Ebrahim Fayez Al Shamsi CEO 04 3160330
Afzal Memon Senior EVP
Abdulla Showaiter (General manager – corporate and investment banking)
Shariq Ali Senior EVP
Faisal Aqil General manager – retail banking
Deira Mains 04 2214535
Ahmed Fayez Alshamsi chief financial officer
Najibullah Khan Branch Manager
Syed Imran Bashir          Head of marketing and product development
Farrukh Iqbal Deputy Branch Manager
Samih Mohd Qadri Awadalla        head of branches
Corporate 04 3513777
Nasir Ahmed Khan                       head of consumer finance
Awais Hasan Branch Manager
Zahir Mulla                                head of operations
Sharjeel Vijdani Deputy Branch Manager
Al Fahidi Street 04 3534545

APRIL 2009 57
 Zain Ghazali Branch Manager
Abdul Basheer Deputy Branch Manager
Jebel Ali 04 8812828
Nisar Chowdhary Branch Manager
Ifthikhar Memon Deputy Branch Manager
Sh.Zayed Branch 04 3313999
Zia Abbas Mirza Branch Manager
Kashif Aijaz Dodhy Deputy Branch Manager
Abu Dhabi Tel: 04 3904722
Sh. Hamdan 02 6346888
Imamat Naqvi Area Manager HSBC Bldg., Dubai Internet City, P.O. Box: 66, Dubai, UAE
Farhan Bakhshy Branch Manager Web: www.hsbc.ae
Al Falah 02 6422600
Syed Akhtar Hussain Branch Manager
Raid Saleem Ansari Deputy Branch Manager Youssef Nasr Chairman
Sharjah 06 5730004
Al Boorj Avenue Ken Matheson Regional Chief Operating Officer
Younus Warsi Area Manager
Kausarullah Khan Branch Manager
Habib Bank limited
Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6224688
Main Branch, Corniche Road, P.O.Box 897, Abu Dhabi Fax 02 6225620
E-mail: hbl2003m@emirates.net.ae
History: Established on August 25, 1941Nationalised on January 1, 1974 On June
1974 absorbed Habib Bank Ltd. On June 30, 1975 absorbed Standard Bank Ltd.,
Karachi
Aman Aziz Siddiqi EVP/RGM 04 3597753
Mohammad Tanvir HR. Manager 04 3592292
Fouad Farrukh GRM 04 3592214
Sh. Abdul Basit AVP/CAD Manager 04 3592539
M. Amin Usman AVP/Treasury 04 3591893
Ahmed Faraz Faruqi VP/Head ICU 04 3592517
Nadeem Zia VP/Head FINCON 04 3592292
Syed Ali Gohar VP/IT/Head 04 3592820
Abdul Shahid Khan VP/Head Cops 04 3591874
Abu Dhabi
Sh. Zayed Road, 2nd Street 602, Level 6, Building 4
Mushtaq H. Shah Service Manager 02 6344557
Abu Dhabi
Main Branch Sheikh Zayed Road
M. Saadat Cheema VP/Chief Manager 02 6224655
Al Ain 03 7642555
Abdul Jalil Al Fahim Bldg.
Adbul Hameed Khan AVP/Senior Manager 03 7642555
Dubai Regional Office
Sahibzada M. Taimur SVP/Corporate Manager 04 3596922
Sameera Mohammad Service Manager 04 3592016
Sheikh Zayed Road, Kalantar Tower
Khalid Bin Shaheen SVP/Director 04 3431421
Mahdi Hassan Business Development Manager 04 3438081
Isar-Ul-Haq Service Manager 04 3438081
Deira Branch, Creek Road
Zulfiqar Ahmad Bhatti Service Manager 04 2253292
Sharjah 06 5682552 / 5683473
Al Boorj Avenue
Assad Ali Shaikh AVP/Branch Manager 06 5695122
Dhaid & Dibba 06 8822249
Near Al Dhaid Police Station 06 8822249
Abdul Sattar Badi Service Manager 06 8822249
HDFC Bank
Representative Office: Dubai Tel 04 3966991
58 APRIL 2009
Juma Al Majid Bldg., Opp Bur Juman Centre Fax 04 3967010
P O Box 64546, Email: hdfcbank@emirates.net.ae
Faisal Saeed Cheif Representative Tel 04 3966991
HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd
Head Office: Jersey, Channel Island
Middle East Management Office, Dubai Internet City
Fax: 04 3906607
UAE Web: www.uae.hsbc.com
David Hodgkinson Director
Abu Dhabi 02 6332200/6152215
Al Ain 03 7641812
Dubai 04 3535000
Deira 04 2227161
Fujeirah 09 2222221
Jebel Ali 04 8846133
Ras Al Khaimah 07 2333544
Sharjah 06 5537222
IndusInd Bank
Dubai Representative Office Tel 04 3978803
203, Safa Commercial Bldg. Fax 04 3978805
Opp. Bur Juman Centre, P.O. Box: 111873, Dubai.
E-mail: ibldubai@indusind.ae
Pradeep Gupta Vice President & Chief Representative 04 3978804
ING Asia Private Bank Ltd
Dubai Representative Office
Tel 04 4277100
Fax 04 4257801
Burj Dubai Square
P.O Box 4296, Dubai – UAE
Suresh Nanda Managing Director & Head
Eric Lorentz Managing Director
Varun Bukshi Executive Director
Melwyn Dias Executive Director
B.R. Subramanian Director
P.G. Bhaskar Director
Ranjit Paul Director
Piyush Bhandari Director
Nitin Bhatnagar Director
Rishi Chauhan Director
Asad Dadarkar Director
Ashraf Al Yamani Director
InvestBank
Sharjah Tel 06 5694440
Al Boorj Avenue, P.O. Box 1885 Fax 06-5694442
E-mail: sharjah@invest-bank.com
Website: www.invest-bank.com
History: Established on 2nd February 1975 as Investment Bank for Trade & Finance
On July 1, 1995 name changed to Investbank.
Sami Farhat General Manager
Qasim Kazmi AGM. Operations & Treasury
Taleb Zaarour Senior Manager-ADM & Legal Dubai Customer Service Centres
Athar Anis Manager, Credit Risk Community Centre at Arabian Ranches, Dubai Tel 04 3023318
Bassam Hollmerus Chief Dealer Fax 04 3618035
Sajjad H. Holimerus Trade Finance Dubai Healthcare City (Behind Wafi City) Tel 04 3023349
Madhu Pilakazhi Financial Controller Fax 04 3624805
Ghassan Accari Personnel Manager
Vinay Gupta IT Manager Man Investments Middle East Limited
Dubai 04 3213131
Sheikh Zayed Road Representative Office Dubai Tel 04 3604999
Dubai 04 2285551 Level 5, West Wing, The Gate, Dubai Internaional Financial Centre Fax 04 3604900
Al Maktoum Street P.O. Box: 73221, Dubai
Al Ain 03 7644446 Website: www.maninvestments.com
Al Ghaba Street E-mail: ManDubai@maninvestments.com
Abu Dhabi 02 6794594 Patrik Merville Chief Executive Officer
Sh. Khalifa street Kamlesh Bhatia Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Abu Dhabi 02 5555336
Mussaffa Area
Sharjah 06 5420333
Industrial Area Mashreqbank
Dubai Tel 04 2223333
Janata Bank Head Office, Omar Bin Al Khatab Street, Deira Fax 04 2226061
P.O. Box 1250, Dubai
Abu Dhabi History: Established on 1st May, 1967 as Bank of
Obied Sayah Al-Mansuri Building Tel No 02-6331400 Oman Limited. On October 1st 1993 name was changed to MashreqBank PSC.
Electra Road, Post Box No. 2630 Fax : 02-6348749 bdullah Al Ghurair President and Chairman
Email jbadas@emirates.net.ae Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair CEO
Mr. Md. Masuduzzaman Chief Executive 02-6344543 Ali Raza Khan
Mr. Md. Chaynul Haque IT Manager/SPO 02-6340881 Head of Corporate Affairs
Mr. Md. Ramjan Bahar System Administrator/PO 02-6340881 Douglas Beckett Head of Retail Banking
Abu Dhabi Omar Bouhadiba Head of Investment and Corporate Banking
Mr. Mohamudul Hoque Manager 0 2-6344542 Nabeel Waheed Head of Treasury and Capital Markets
Dubai Nigel Morgan Head of Audit Review & Compliance
Mr. Md. Abdul Awal Manager Majid Husain Head of Financial Institutions
Mohammad Saleh Al-Gurg Building 0 4-2281442 Somnath Menon Head of Operations & Technology
Al-Borj Street, P.O. Box 3342 Kantic DasGupta Head of Risk Management
Mr. Md. Mizanur Rahman Manager Alexander Sinclair Head of Technology
Sharjah Mubashar Khokhar CEO of Badr Al Islami
Saqer Bin Rashid Al Quassim Building Ebrahim Kazi Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications
Al Suwaiheen Street, P.O. Box- 5303 0 6-5687032 Saad Hakim Events and Public Relations Manager
Mr. Md. Mizanur Rahman Manager Al Khaleej Street, Deira 04 2717771
Al Ain Branch Souq Al Kabir Branch 04 2264176
Mr. Md Shahadat Hossain Manager Hor Al Anz, Deira 04 2623100
Sk. Khalifa Bin Mohd. Al-Nahyan Building, Jumeirah Branch 04 3441600
Main Market Centre, Main Street, Jebel Ali 04 8815355
P.O. Box- 1107 0 3-7513425 Khor Branch 04 3534000
Bur Juman Centre 04 3527103
Lloyds TSB Bank plc Al Riqa, Deira 04 2229131
Al Aweer 04 3333727
Dubai Main Branch Abu Dhabi 02 6274300
Al Wasl Road, Opp. Safa Park Tel 04 3422000 Main Branch, Khalifa Street
P.O. Box: 3766, Dubai, UAE Fax 04 3422660 Musaffa 02 5555051
E-mail: information@lloydstsb.ae Zayed the 2nd Street 02 6334021
Website: www.lloydstsb.ae Al Salam Street 02 6786500
Vivek Vohra Head of Corporate Origination Al Mushrif 02 4432424
Giles Cunningham Regional Manager, UAE & Gulf States 04 3023267 Baniyas 02 5821100
Bert de Ruiter Managing Director 04 3023267 Muroor 02 4481858
Steve Williams Consumer Banking Director 04 3023267 Khalidiya 02 6665757
Jon Mortell Head of Corporate Banking 04 3023266 Al Ain 03 7667700
Suresh Jadhwani Treasury Manager 04 3023256 Al Ain Main Street
Tim Goddard Head of Operations and IT 04 3023250 Ali Ibn Abi Tailb St. 03 7669968
Derek Vaz Head of Finance and Planning 04 3023330 Ajman 06 7422440
Caroline Ridley HR Manager 04 3023270 Shk Humaid Bin Abdul Aziz Street, Near Ajman Museum
Steve Snowdon  Head of Middle Office Fujairah 09 2221100
Alex de Melo Head of Treasury Trading Sh. Hamad Street
Edson Suppo Head of Treasury Strategy & Risk Ras Al Khaimah 07 2361644
Claire Thomas Head of Human Resources King Faisal Street.

APRIL 2009 59
Al Nakheel RAK 07 2281695
Sharjah Main 06 5684366
Bank Street, Rolla
King Abdul Aziz Street 06 5730883
Dhaid 06 8822899
Main Street, Sh. Arsan Hameed Bldg., Dhaid
Dibba 09 2444230
Kalba 09 2777430
Kalba City
Khorfakkan 09 2385295
Umm Al Quwain 06 7666948
King Faisal Street, Next to New Souk
Merill Lynch International & Co.C.V
Representative Office Dubai (04) 3975555
Business Center Building, Khalid Bin Walid Street
P.O. Box 3911, Dubai
Telefax 04-3975252
Executive Director Mones Bazzy
NATIXIS
Dubai Branch Tel 04 7026777
DIFC Gate Village Fax 04 7026820
Building No. 8, 5th Floor
P.O Box 33770
Email: natixis@emirates.net.ae
Website: www.natixis.fr
Philippe Petitgas CEO
National Bank of Abu Dhabi
Head Office: Abu Dhabi 02 - 6111111
One NBAD Tower, Khalifa St., P.O. Box 4, Abu Dhabi
Telex 22266/7 MASRIP EM
History: Established in 1968
H.E. KHALIFA MOHAMED AL KINDI Chairman
H.E. DR. JAUAN SALEM AL DHAHIRI Deputy Chairman
MICHAEL H. TOMALIN Chief Executive
ABDULLA MOHAMMED SALEH ABDULRAHEEM GM & Chief Operating Officer
SAIF ALI MOHAMED MUNAKHAS AL SHEHHI GM Domestic Banking Division
QAMBER ALI AL MULLA GM International Banking Division
ABHIJIT CHOUDHURY GM & Chief Risk Officer
JOHN GARRETT GM & Chief Audit & Compliance Officer
Abu Dhabi
Main Branch 02 - 6111111
Khalidiya 02 - 6666800
Dept. of Social Services & Commercial Buildings 02 - 6346673
ADCO 02 - 6672642
ADMA 02 - 6263225
ADNOC 02 - 6669143
Abu Dhabi Municipality 02 - 6744749
NPCC 02 - 5549282 Al Falah Camp Office 06 - 5385969
ZADCO 02 - 6768821
HILTON 02 - 6812280
Abu Dhabi International Airport 02 - 5757303
Sheikh Rashed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Road 02 - 6419800
Abu Dhabi Mall 02 - 6452200
Arabian Gulf Road 02 - 4478878
Baniyas 02 - 5831625
Bateen 02 - 6658332
Between The Two Bridges Area 02 - 5589446
Corniche 02 - 6220300
60 APRIL 2009
Dalma Island 02 - 8781240
TAMM 02 - 8945528
Das Island 02 - 8731099
Liwa 02 - 8822388
Madinat Zayed 02 - 8846146
Government Complex 02 - 8945428
Al Mirfaa 02 - 8836506
Al Ruwais 02 - 8776343
Al Muroor 02 - 4481918
Mussafah 02 - 5553357
Dept. of Social Services & Commercial Buildings (Mussafah) 02 - 5520681
Mussafah Municipality 02 - 5540300
Industrial City of Abu Dhabi 02 - 5501125
Al Salam St. 02 - 6442900
Al Shahama 02 - 5632411
New Al Shahama 02 - 5635695
Abu Dhabi Municipality-Shahama 02 - 5631385
Sweihan 03 - 7347919
Marina Mall 02 - 6816002
Al Etihad 02 - 6111111
Emirates Palace 02 - 6908900
National Exhibition Centre 02 - 4494996
Mina Road 02 - 6767665
Al Alin
Al Ain Clock Tower 03 - 7642400
Al Ain 03 - 7516900
Al Ain Cement Factory 03 - 7828060
Al Ain International Airport 03 - 7855511
Al Ain Defence 03 - 7688824
Al Sanaiya 03 - 7213222
Al Hayer 02 - 7322400
Al Ain Mall 03 - 7519900
Ajman
Ajman 06 - 7422996
Dubai
Deira 04 - 2226141
Dubai Side 04 - 3599111
Jebel Ali 04 - 8815655
Sh. Zayed Road 04 - 3433311
Al Qusais 04 - 2674176
Jumeirah 04 - 3499001
Mall of the Emirates 04 - 3413888
Fujairah
Fujairah 09 - 2222458
Dibba 09 - 2444223
Ras Al Khaimah
Al Nakheel 07 - 2281753
Ras Al Khaimah 07 - 2334333
Sharjah
Al Bourj Avenue 06 - 5695500
Sharjah 06 - 5721111
Al Dhaid 06 - 8822929
Khorfakkan 09 - 2385250
Kalba 09 - 2772112
Umm Al Quwain
Umm Al Quwain 06 - 7660033

National Bank of Bahrain
Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6335288
Khalaf Bin Ahmed Al Otaiba Building, Sh. Hamdan Street Fax 02 6333783
P.O.Box 46080
Email: nbbbr96@emirates.net.ae
Website: www.nbbonline.com
Farouk Khalaf UAE Country Manager 02 6335299
Ingersoll Ramalingam Manager Credit 02 6311248
National Bank of Dubai
Dubai Tel 04 2222111
Head Office Baniyas Street, Deira
Fax 04 2283000
P.O. Box 777
Email: contactus@nbd.co.ae
Website: www.nbd.com
History: Established in1963 as National Bank of Dubai Limited. In 1994 name was
changed to National Bank of Dubai.
R. Douglas Dowie CEO
Joyshil Mitter CFO
Alex Richardson COO
Leslic Rice CRO
Abdul Shakoor Tahlak CM - Intl.
Ghanim Bin Zaal CM - Business Development
Ali Al Najjar CM - Liability
Suvo Sarkar Head of Retail
Rajesh Thaper Head Of Corporate
Faranak Foroughi Head of TPO
Husam Al Sayad Head of HR
G. Krishnamoorthy Treasurer
Sue Evans Head of IS&T
Alan M. Smith Head of Group Audit
A. Chandran Head of BPQM
Walid El Masri Head of Corp Comm
Rashmi Malik Head of Strategy
Abdul Fattah Sharaf GM NFS
Mohamed Al Neaimi GM Aqarat
Ali Kaitoob Head of Dist. Retail
P.S. Sastry SM CEO’s Office
Hesham Qassimi Divisional Manager Corporate Banking
Abu Dhabi P.O. Box: 386 Tel : 02 6394555 Fax : 02 6346767
Ajman P.O. Box: 712 Tel : 06 7456555 Fax : 06 7456060
Ajman Archives Tel : 06 7444606 Fax : 06 7425883
Al Mizhar Tel : 04 2641221 Fax : 04 2640569
Al Ain P.O. Box: 16122 Tel : 03 7644345 Fax : 03 7668515
Burjuman Centre Tel : 04 3555222 Fax : 04 3554455
Bullion Tel : 04 2284757 Fax : 04 2289090
Convention Centre Branch Tel : 04 3320808 Fax : 04 3320908
Dubai Central Fruit & Vgtbl. Mkt Branch Al Awir Tel : 04 3333880 Fax : 04 3333870
Dubai International Airport Tel : 04 2200404 Fax : 04 2244614
Dubai International Airport Pay Office Tel : 04 2164946 Fax : 04 2244614
Dubai Internation Airport Tel : 04 2162450 Fax : 04 2244614
Dubai Internation Airport Tel : 04 2166995 Fax : 04 2244614
Dubai Internation Airport Tel : 04 2162452 Fax : 04 2244614
Dubai Internation Airport Tel : 04 2162434 Fax : 04 2244614
Dubai Internation Airport Tel : 04 2162740 Fax : 04 2244614
Dubai Media City Pay Office Tel : 04 3902007 Fax : 04 3908855
Deira City Centre Tel : 04 2951555 Fax : 04 2951525
Dubai Airline Centre Tel : 04 2952555 Fax : 04 2955655
Dubai Airport Free Zone Tel : 04 2995550 Fax : 04 2995557
Dubai Courts Tel : 04 3366702 Fax : 04 3353906
Dubai Media City Pay Office Tel : 04 3030400 Fax : 04 3908855
Emirates Tower Tel : 04 3300133 Fax : 04 3300155
Fahidi Tel : 04 3535575 Fax : 04 3535575
Emirates Tower Tel : 04 3530308 Fax : 04 3534601
Emirates Tower Tel : 04 2823400 Fax : 04 2823640
Fahidi Direct Banking Tel : 04 3532840 Fax : 04 3531443
Fujairah Branch P.O. Box: 1744 Tel : 09 2233335 Fax : 09 2233336
Hamriya Tel : 04 2663189 Fax : 04 2690103
Hatta Tel : 04 8523183 Fax : 04 8521051
Ibn Battuta Mall Branch Tel : 04 3685499 Fax : 04 3685501
Ittihad Road Tel : 04 2955600 Fax : 04 2955611
Jumeirah Branch Tel : 04 3420202 Fax : 04 3421112
Jebel Ali Tel : 04 8816087 Fax : 04 8816961
Main Office Tel : 04 2222111 Fax : 04 2283000
Maktoom Branch Tel : 04 2281141 Fax : 04 2235456
Malleq Emirates Branch Tel : 04 3410777 Fax : 04 3410707
Muhaissnah Branch Tel : 04 2544545 Fax : 04 2544646
Nadd Al Shiba Tel : 04 3363939 Fax : 04 3363788
Oud Metha Branch (Ex-Gulf Tower Branch) Tel : 04 3370222 Fax : 04 3366145
Ras Al Kaimah P.O. Box : 1932 Tel : 07 2279888 Fax : 07 2279889
Rashidiya Tel : 04 2859523 Fax : 04 2854847
Souk Madinat Jumeirah Branch Tel : 04 3686130 Fax : 04 3686195
Sh. Zayed Road (Saeed Tower) Tel : 04 3313183 Fax : 04 3310629
Sharjah P.O. Box : 21850 Tel : 06 5738888 Fax : 06 5733000
Umm Al Quwain P.O. Box : 22 Tel : 06 7656154 Fax : 06 7655151
Emirates Tower Tel : 06 7656152 Fax : 04 3300155
Umm Suqeim Tel : 04 3485222 Fax : 04 3482535
National Bank of Oman
Abu Dhabi
Bin Sagar Towers, Najda Street Tel 02 6348111 / 6323456
P.O. Box 3822 Fax 02 6325027
Ravi S. Khot Country Manager 02 6393028
Salim Al Khanjri Manager - Operations 02 6392535
Minhajuddin Niazi Manager - Consumer Banking &
Business Development 02 6326560
K.K. Gambhir Manager - Corporate Banking 02 6394922
National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain
History: Established in 1982
24/7 Call Centre Number: 600 56 56 56
E-mail: nbuq@nbq.ae Website: www.nbq.ae
Sh. Nasser Bin Rashid Al-Moalla Managing Director
Mohamed Abdel Rahim Al Mulla General Manager
Umm Al Qaiwain Branch Tel: 06 7066666
NBQ Building, King Faisal Street Fax: 06 706 6677
P.O.Box 800, Umm Al Qaiwain
Falaj Al Mualla Branch Tel: 06 8824447
NBQ Building, Shaikh Zayed Street Fax: 06 8824445
P.O.Box 11074 Falaj Al Mualla
Dubai Branches Tel: 04 3976655
NBQ Building, Khalid Bin Al Waleed Street Fax: 04 3975382
P.O. Box 9715 Dubai 
Deira Branch Tel: 04 2651222
Opposite Dubai Police Head Quaiter Fax: 04 2651333
Al Ittihad Street, P.O. Box 8898 Deira,
Abu Dhabi Branch
Hamdan Bin Mohammed Street (# 5) Tel: 02 6775100
P.O. Box 3915 Abu Dhabi  Fax: 02 6779644
Mussafah Branch Tel: 02 5555088
P.O. Box 9770 Abu Dhabi Fax: 02 5553559
APRIL 2009 61

Al Ain Branch Tel: 03 3751300
Oud Al Touba Street Fax: 03 7513500
Al Mandoos Roundabout
P.O. Box 17888 Al Ain
Sharjah Branch Tel: 06 5742000
King Faisal Street, Fax: 06 5742200
P.O.Box 23000 Sharjah
NBQ Kiosk Fax: 06 5742200
Sharjah Mega Mall
P.O.Box 23000 Sharjah
Ajman Branches
City Center Branch Tel: 06 7436000
Ajman City Center Fax: 06 7436060
P.O.Box 4133 Ajman
Masfout Branch Tel: 04 8523377
NBQ Building Fax: 04 8523093
Main Street
P.O.Box 12550 Masfout, Ajman
Fujairah Branch Tel: 09 2232100
Fujairah Insurance Co. Building Fax: 09 2232220
Hamad Bin Abdulla Road
P.O.Box 1444 Fujairah
Ras Al Khaimah Branch Tel: 07 2366444
Corniche Al Qawasim Road Fax: 07 2364470
P.O.Box 32253
Ras Al Khaimah
Philippine National Bank
Dubai Representative Office Abu Dhabi-Tourist Club Branch Tel : 02-6448227
Room 108, Al Nakheel Bldg., Zabeel Road, Karama Tel 04 3365940
P.O. Box 52357, Dubai, UAE Fax 04 3374474
E-mail: pnbdxb@emirates.net.ae
Amroussi Tillah Rasul First Vice President & Regional Representative
Rafidain Bank
Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6335882 / 3
Al Nasser Street, Glass Bldg. Fax 6326996
P.O.Box 2727, Abu Dhabi Al Nakheel Branch Tel : 07-2281127
Salah Mahid Branch Manager
Royal Bank of Canada
Dubai Representative Office Tel 04 3313196
API World Tower, Suite 1002, Shk. Zayed Road, P.O. Box: 3614. Telefax 04 3313960
Umaima Zaman senior manager
Ashwani.k.Dewitt senior manager
Global Private Banking
Ashish Anand Chief Representative
RAK Bank
Ras Al Khaimah
Head Office, Oman Street, Al Nakheel Tel 07 2281127
P.O. Box 5300 Fax 07 2283238
E-mail: nbrakho@emirates.net.ae; www.rakbank.ae
History: Established in 1976 as The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah. In 2003,
name was changed to RAKBANK
H.E. Sheikh Omar Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Chairman
H.E. Sheikh Salim Bin Sultan-Al-Qasimi Director
Mr. Hamad Abdulaziz Al Sagar Director
Mr. Essa Ahmed Abu Shuraija Al Neaimi Director
Mr. Majid Saif Al Ghurair Director
62 APRIL 2009
Mr. Ali Samir Al Shihabi Director
Mr. Yousuf Obaid Essa Director
Mr. Graham Honeybill General Manager
Mr. Ian Hodges Head of Personal Banking
Mr. Anil Sukhia Head of Corporate Banking
Mr. Steve O Hanlon Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Geoff Harman Head of Internal Controls
Mr. Jose Braganza Head of Credit
Mr. Malcolm D’Souza Head of Treasury
Mr. Nigel Summersall Chief Internal Auditor
Mrs. Susan Gardner Head of Human Resources
Mr. Venkat Raghavan Head of Finance
Dubai
Deira Maktoum Branch Tel : 04-2248000
Deira Souk Branch Tel : 04-2248000
Umm Hurair Branch (Bur Dubai) Tel : 04-2248000
Sultan Business Center ( Dubai Main Branch) Tel : 04-2248000
Sheikh Zayed Road Branch Tel : 04-2248000
Emaar Business Park Branch Tel : 04-2248000
Marina Diamond Branch Tel : 04-2248000
Al Quoz Branch Tel : 04-2248000
Al Qusais Branch Tel : 04-7058444
Ibn Battuta Mall Branch Tel : 04-3685890
Sharjah
Sharjah Main Branch Tel : 06-5746888
Sharjah Industrial Area Tel : 06-5132666
Kalba Branch Tel : 09-2778707
Khorafakkan Branch Tel : 09-2371900
Al Ain
Al Ain Branch Tel : 03-7644222
Abu Dhabi
Khalidiya Branch Tel : 02-6666658
Ras Al Khaimah
RAK Town Branch Tel : 07-2333744
Sha’am Branch Tel : 07-2666833
Badr Branch Tel : 07-2448822
Al Mannei Branch Tel : 04-8525999
Al Rams Branch Tel : 07-2662434
Al Dhait Branch Tel : 07-2351147
Sharjah Islamic Bank
Mohammed Abdalla Chief Executive Officer 06-5115116
Ahmed Saad ibrahim Chief Operating Officer 06-5115118
Mohammed Rizwan Chief Risk Officer 06-5115172
Saeed M Ahmed Al Amiri Head, Investment Group 06-5115000
Ossama Salah El Din Head, Retail Banking 06-5115339
G . Ramkirshinan Head of Coroprate Banking Group 06-5115111
Hussam A. Abu Aisheh SVP-Chief Internal Audit 06-5115153
Mohammed Ishaq Chief Dealer 06-5115151
Mohamed Azmeer Head of Credit Division 06-5115319
Eman Jasim Sajwani Head of Human Resources Group 06-5115170
Myron Britto Head, nformation Technology Div.-CIO 06-5115444
Sufyan Maysara Head of Shariaa Supervision Divison 06-5115213
Branches
Main Branch - Al Brooj Avenue Mohammed Yousif 06-5115121
King Faisal Street Branch Abdul Salam Al Ali 06-5746805
Ladies Branch Laila Ali Salem 06-5746807
American Unversity Branch Mohd Mousa Ali 06-5585789
Al Dhaid Branch Khalid M. Ajmani 06-8829414
Industrial Area Branch Waleed Abdul Qadir 06-5397623
Sharjah Expo Branch Jassim Al Awadi 06-5992502
Sharjah Buhaira Branch Osama Ahmed AlSalman N/A
Khorfakhan Branch Yousif M. Abdullah 09-2387490
Dibba Branch Ali Al-Abdouli 09-2442601
Kalba Branch Abdullah Bin Hikal 09-2774204 The Housing Bank for Trade & Finance
Fujairah Branch Nawal Mohamed AlMaghribi 09-2244339
Dubai Branch Mohamed Ibrahim Alghufili 04-2698322 Abu Dhabi
Sheikh Zayed Branch Maisoon Zainudin 04-3217543 P.O. Box 44768 Tel 02 6268855/6270280
Al Twar Branch Maha AlBanna 04-2638335 Fax 02 6271771
Abu Dhabi Branch Thomas P.Y. 02-6224166 Muhanad Habashneh Representative
Al Ain Branch Majid Sha’abaan 03-7513200
Union de Banques Arabes et Francaises UBAF
Shuaa Capital PSC
Dubai
Head Office Tel: 04 3303600/ 04 3199778 Creek Tower, Baniyas Road, Deira
Emirates Towers Hotel, Level 7 Fax: 04 3303550 Tel 04 2284080
P.O. Box: 31045, Dubai, UAE. P.O. Box 29885 Fax 04 2284070
Website: www.shuaacapital.com Hamed Hassouna Chief Representative GCC & Yemen
Iyad Duwaji CEO
Abeer Ayash Marketing and PR coordinator
UBS AG
Societe Generale Abu Dhabi
ADNIC Bldg., 5th Floor, Sh. Khalifa Street Tel 02 6275024
Dubai P.O.Box 3744 Fax 02 6272752
DIFC Gate Village, Bldg. 6, 4th Floor Tel.: 04 4257500 Website: www.ubs.com
Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai Fax: 04 3653170 Roger Leitner Senior Representative
Website: www.socgen.com
Alain L. Tave Chief Regional Representative Dubai
Creek Tower, Office 17A, Baniyas Road, Deira 04 2240044
Peter Schaer Senior Representative 04 2220006
Standard Bank Plc - Dubai Branch (DIFC) DIFC
Gate Village, Bldg. No. 6, 5th Floor Tel.: 04 3657150
Dubai
Sheikh Zayed Road Fax: 04 3657191
Emirates Tower, Office-16 B Tel 04 3300011
P.O Box 506542
P.O. Box 504904 Fax 04 3300169
Per Larsson Senior Representative
Website: www.standardbank.com
Jeffrey Rhodes General Manager 04 3300164
Kate Lunjevich Head of Compliance & Operations
Union National Bank
Standard Chartered Bank Abu Dhabi Tel 02 6741600
Head Office, Salam Street, P.O.Box 3865, Abu Dhabi Fax 02 6786080
Head Office: United Kingdom
Website: www.unb.ae
Dubai Main Branch Tel 04 3520455
History: Established as a Public Joint Stock Company in 1982
Head Office: Al Fardan Building, Fax 04 3526679
Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan Chairman
Mankhool Road, Bur Dubai
Mohammad Nasr Abdeen Chief Executive Officer
P.O. Box: 999, Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi Corniche 02 632 1600
www.standardchartered.com/ae/
City Centre 02 627 3471
Phone Banking: +9714 3138888 (24 hours)
Najda 02 632 4981
Dubai Branch
Hazzaa 02 641 2288
P. O. Box 999, Al Mankool Road, Dubai , UAE 04-3599550
Khalidiya 02 635 2511
Deira Branch P. O. Box 1125, Al Nasr Square, Dubai, 04-5085300
Adgas Booth 02 627 0611
Gold Souq Branch
Musaffah 02 555 9111
P. O. Box 64555, Gold Souq, Dubai , UAE 04-2262699
Shahama 02 563 4600
Jebel Ali Branch
Baneyas 02 582 1886
P. O. Box 16920 , Jebel Ali, Dubai , UAE 04-5085200
Al Dhafra/Madinat Zayed 08 884 8484
Sharjah Branch
Al Muroor 02 444 8384
P. O. Box 5, Al Boorj Avenue, Sharjah , UAE 06-5916100
Al Ain
Hamdhan Branch
Sh. Khalifa Street 03 7644551
P. O. Box 240,Al Fardan Tower ,Abu Dhabi, UAE 02-6165600
Al Jimi 03 7626240
Istiqlal Branch
Dubai
P. O. Box 241, Istiqlal Street, Abu Dhabi UAE 02-6165400
Main Branch, Deira 04 2211188
Al Ain Branch
Al Maktoum Street 04 2232266
P. O. Box 1240, Near Clock Tower, Al Ain, UAE 03-7056800
Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road 04 3516444
Dragon Mart Branch
Al Bustan 04 2636388
P. O. Box 4166, Dragon Mart mall, Dubai, UAE 04-5085260
Jebel Ali 04 8810999
Emaar Business Park Branch
Sheikh Zayed Road/Jumeira 04 3329911
P. O. Box 103669,Building 3 ,Dubai , UAE 04-5085255
Rashidiya 04 2857686
Wealth Management Center
P.O Box 999, Jumeira Beach Road, Dubai UAE 04-5085706

APRIL 2009 63
 Ajman Central - Emirates Post 06 7425552 P.O. Box 1367, Dubai Fax 04 3514525
Fujairah 09 2222747 Email: ublgmuae@emirates.net.ae
Ras Al Khaimah 07 2286600 Website: www.ubl.com.pk
Sharjah 06 5686141 Wajahat Husain Head of Middle East
King Abdul Aziz 06 5746161 Maruf Ahmed General Manager UAE

United Arab Bank Wachovia Bank National Assoc.

Representative Office Dubai
General Management & H.O. Tel 06 5733900 The Atrium Centre, Khalid Bin Waleed Street, Bur Dubai 04 3556244
Sh. Abdulla Bin Salim Al Qassimi Building, Al Qasimia St., Sharjah Fax 06 5733906 P.O. Box 53089 Fax 3557117
E-Mail Address uarbae@emirates.net.ae Head Office: USA
Website www.uab.ae J.Kennedy Thompson Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
History: Established 1975 Michael P. Heavener International Division
Dubai Branch:
Bertrand Giraud General Manager 06 5733900 Chafic Haddad Vice President & Regional Manager
Awni Alami Dy. General Manager 06 5733900 Carol Hampson Customer Services Representative
Gibert Hie Asst. GM-Corporate & Retail 06 5733900
Arif Premdjee Asst. GM-Admin. & Finance 06 5733900

United Bank Limited

Dubai
Gargosh Bldg, Khalid Bin Waleed Street Tel 04 3552020

6464 APRIL
March2009
2009
APRIL 2009 1
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